CHENEY – The City Council took steps at its Dec. 10 meeting to close out 2019 by passing the city’s 2020 budget.
The council held its second, third and final passage of next year’s $33.3 million revenue and expenses budget — an amount that was almost $600,000 larger than previously discussed during budget meetings due to several late additions. One of those was the decision by the City Council to put $100,000 from the city’s public safety levy lid lift tax revenue towards a down payment on another replacement fire truck, while another was adding all of the collected park mitigation fees into the fund for park improvements, a figure totaling $492,000.
“We also budgeted in the parks and recreation operational budget a study so someone could come out and take a look at our pool,” Finance Director Cindy Niemeier told the council.
The budget was passed unanimously.
As part of the budgeting, the council also passed three other ordinances, the first authorizing a $500,000 loan from the sewer department reserves to the water department to cover an “operational shortfall” in 2019 due to unexpected and unfunded items that arose such as repairing several large leaks in the city’s water supply system. Niemeier said the loan had nothing to do with the Well 3 rehabilitation project, and she didn’t expect the amount needed to be the full $500,000.
“I think it’s going to be more like a couple hundred thousand dollars,” she said.
Council also approved the city’s 2020 salary ordinance, which includes cost of living adjustments agreed to in collective bargaining agreements and a 3 percent increase for non-represented employees. It also increases the minimum wage to $13.50 per hour and adjusts part-time salaries in the parks and recreation department.
City Administrator Mark Schuller told the council the increase in the minimum wage would likely affect fees and other charges for service in the department. The final ordinance passed also dealt with parks and recreation, being a $102,000 amendment to the 2019 budget that included adjustments for parks maintenance, capital and operations and maintenance expenses
Niemeier said the biggest items were a large cash out agreement for a long-time city employee who recently retired along with paying for a new activities bus.
In resolutions, the council approved writing off $32,282.06 in uncollected utility accounts resulting from uncollectable utility bills under $50, bankruptcies, small credits and bills from owners who have passed with no collectable estates and accounts who are no longer within the legal period of collections. Niemeier said the city looks at these bills annually, and that utility bills “are only collectable for a certain amount of time.”
Niemeier said the “huge amount” was assigned to the collection agency at the same time the city raised its utility deposit amounts and made other changes to reduce the number and size of bills and refunds sent out.
“So I don’t expect this large dollar amount to be coming up again,” she added.
Council also approved a resolution and agreement to lease updated SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) for five years for the city’s fire department. The city will provide a down payment of $52,300 and make payments over the next five years to cover the remaining balance of $108,790 beginning in 2020 and covered out of levy lid life revenues.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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