Cheney council OKs financial measures

A full Cheney City Council moved like a whirlwind through a resolution and ordinance packed agenda at its next to last meeting of 2014 Tuesday night, unanimously approving 11 separate items.

Five of the items were financial measures needed to wrap up 2014 and prepare the city to implement its recently passed $23 million budget in 2015. The first of these measures was resolution E-273, which is required by the Government Accounting Standards Board in order to designate revenues normally sent to the General Fund to other specific funds.

Finance Director Cindy Niemeier explained to the council that, as the group with the highest level of decision making authority in the city, they are the only ones who can “commit” governmental revenue streams from the general fund to other outside funds. Some of those specific funds include the Residential Street Fund, the EMS Levy Fund, the Parks and Recreation Fund and the Criminal Justice Fund.

Several of those funds and associated revenue streams from the General Fund were established through previous ballot initiatives sent to Cheney residents, such as the 4.75 percent electric utility tax revenue designated to Parks and Recreation.

Another financial measure approved was resolution E-274, which updates governmental fees such as licenses and permits, building, plumbing and mechanical permits and general inspection fees with a few minor corrections and changes. The council also passed resolution E-275, writing off $3,113.02 in utility accounts the city was unable to collect for a number of reasons.

In ordinances, council approved ordinance W-56, the final 2014 budget amendment that moves $613,700 into appropriations to pay city expenses. The biggest of this, $300,000, was to pay Bonneville Power Administration for power purchased by the Light Department, while another $148,500 was transferred to the Solid Waste fund to pay for depreciation.

The city also passed its 2015 Salary Ordinance, W-57, which contained cost of living adjustments for employees covered by labor contracts. For non-represented employees, City Administrator Mark Schuller said the 2015 budget included no such adjustments.

The council unanimously approved a new three-year labor contract with the Cheney Police Guild, a contract that included a 1.75 percent salary increase in 2015 that was included in the budget passed by the council.

One of the new features of the contract, Schuller said, was basing staffing levels on a 28-day schedule with the intent of minimizing overtime by spreading it out over a longer period. The level calls for a minimum of two patrol officers to be on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the purposes of officer safety and workload demands.

There are three exceptions to this requirement. The first is Monday — Friday day shifts during July and August where one patrol officer working alone is permitted, if other commissioned officers are also on duty, and all graveyard shifts from 4:30 – 6 a.m.

For Thursdays, Friday and Saturdays from September to June, a minimum of three commissioned officers must be on duty between 10 p.m. – 3 a.m.

“Mainly, what we tried to address in this contract are those crazy Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights when the (Eastern Washington University) students are here,” Schuller said.

Schuller said the new staffing levels should work to reduce overtime and create safer conditions for patrol officers as long as the city doesn’t run into situations where officers are out for extended periods of time due to illness, injury or other situations.

“If that happens, we could see some unanticipated overtime,” he said.

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].