8 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015
Local
City completes the year’s budget process
Gina K. Swartz/ The Baker County Press
Members of City Council, the Budget Committee and key staff members (not all captured is these photos) tackled the arduous task of discussion and fi nally the ap-
proval of the annual budget during a series of meetings last week.
• YMCA / SAM-O
REQUEST FUNDS,
BCPD BULLET-
PROOF VESTS NEED
REPLACED
BY GINA K. SWARTZ
Gina@TheBakerCountyPress.com
For three consecutive
evenings last week the
City Budget Board met
to review, discuss, make
changes to and eventu-
ally approve the proposed
2015-2016 budget.
The Budget Board is
made up of seven com-
munity members who
work intensively with City
Council members and City
staff to approve a budget
that meets the goals of the
City and expectations of
the community.
Current Budget Board
members are Randy
Daugherty, Gail Duman,
Aletha Bonebrake, Beverly
Calder, Rustin Smith, Dan
McQuisten and Bruce
Nichols.
Tuesday, May 19, as
the meetings were getting
started, Daugherty was
elected Chairman with
Beverly Calder vice-chair.
City Manager Mike
Kee addressed the Bud-
get Board, giving a brief
overview of the proposed
budget put together by
staff beginning in March
and based off of numbers
gathered at that time.
He also reminded ev-
eryone that grant dollars or
donation money already re-
ceived for certain projects
has been accounted for in
the budget and earmarked.
If that money is not used
for its intention, it must
be returned and therefore
taken out of the budget.
He noted that labor costs
had risen, including insur-
ance costs by about 17%,
advising that board mem-
bers should expect to see
that refl ected in the budget.
He also noted that at the
end of last year, there was
a carry-forward balance of
about $500,000.
Kee also drew atten-
tion to the request in the
Police Department budget
for a request to fund an
additional offi cer who will
serve as a School Resource
Offi cer, which is a joint
venture with the School
District.
The School District will
provide funding for the
position also and grant dol-
lars are included as well.
Several community
members who have interest
in budgeted money from
the City gave brief pre-
sentations to the board for
consideration of what they
were proposing.
First to speak was Heidi
Dalton, CEO of Baker
County YMCA.
Dalton said, “I am here
to thank the City for allow-
ing the Y to run the pool
on behalf of the citizens
of Baker. I think we do
a great job of partnering
and sharing the costs of
operating the pool. I’m
here asking that you really
stand behind this and make
an investment in a very
valuable community asset
to ensure that it is open for
years to come.”
With about 25,000 visits
per year, the pool built in
1983 is seeing some big
systems that are in need of
repairs.
Dalton would like to see
the City be proactive in
those repairs rather than re-
active causing a shutdown
of the pool to preform
repairs.
“We are teaching over
a thousand kids to swim
this year. We are reaching
every 2nd and 3rd grader
in Baker County and then
some. We are very proud
of that but we simply can’t
do that without the swim-
ming pool being open,”
she said.
Repairs needed include
reroofi ng areas that are
currently leaking, fi xing
shower heads that are not
working properly and
replacement of and aging
boiler heating system in
the facility.
“Is the boiler original to
the building?” asked Coun-
cilor Merrill.
“That is my understand-
ing, yes,” answered Dalton.
She also indicated some
money that could have
been used toward helping
to replace the boiler system
had recently been redi-
rected by the YMCA board
to be used instead toward
YMCA programs such as
learning to swim programs.
The YMCA is able to offer
lessons that typically cost
around $40 for about $6.
“We just can’t see putting
money into an asset that is
not ours when it could be
used elsewhere to further
our own programs,” ex-
plained Dalton.
Richard Haines,
President of New Hope for
Eastern Oregon Animals
addressed council asking
for $2,000 to use toward
fundraising. The group
indicated they would be
approaching the County as
well for funds. The goal of
New Hope is to eventually
build a shelter in Baker
City. Also addressing the
Board was Merlin Gath
from the golf board. He
spoke of money requested
for a bathroom remodel
two years ago.
Major problems with the
irrigation system on the
golf course required a por-
tion of that money be taken
away from the bathroom
remodel project, however
a successful overhaul was
done with the remainder of
the money.
Irrigation problems
continue to plague the Golf
Course and more money
to address issues there is
being requested.
The entire proposed
budget was gone through
line by line with discussion
being made on some items.
The Police Department
asked for funding for new
bulletproof vests that are
expiring.
Budget Board member
Duman asked, “How do
those things expire?”
Chief Wyn Lohner
explained equipment
deteriorates under working
conditions and in different
climates.
Board Member Nichols
stated he “did not see a
budget for unemployment,
was no one expected to
leave?”
Lohner replied, “Not ex-
pecting that to happen, and
at least not with anyone
that would be eligible for
benefi ts.”
Fire Department Chief
Mark Johns indicated they
had found some savings.
He was asking for a
position to be restored
and replacement of some
personal equipment for
the fi refi ghters such as ra-
dios. It was also noted that
emergency services had
found some additional sav-
ings as well and would be
requesting less for dispatch
services.
As the Board went
through the budget, discus-
sion was made again of
the boiler replacement for
Sam-O-Swim center.
Daugherty felt a task
force to look into the best
course of action in regards
to the boiler was the best
option.
He felt that the task
force should include Heidi
Dalton of the YMCA,
Doug Schwin, City En-
gineer, Ben Merrill City
Councilman among others
preferably pool users.
Daugherty indicated
that this particular item
should go before the City
Council in a regular meet-
ing.
Kee said he would add it
to the agenda for the next
upcoming meeting.
Another item discussed
was the golf course in
which Bill Tiedeman, who
currently leases the golf
course wanted the City to
buy back equipment he
had purchased specifi cally
a golf cart, golf cart house
and a Point of Sale (POS)
machine.
The budget board dis-
cussed the need for such
items and it was agreed
that the POS machine
would have valuable
information for a succes-
sor should Tiedeman not
choose to continue on at
the end of his contract.
The board also felt
that the Golf Course’s
requested budget amount
to replace irrigation at the
course was too vast and
needed to be scaled down,
maybe replacing only
smaller portions at a time.
The Board also dis-
cussed the water fund,
street fund, public works
fund, replacement of the
roof on the mausoleum
at the cemetery, the court
plaza project, airport fund
and equipment and vehicle
funds among other smaller
items.
At the end of the third
meeting the Board voted
to approve the proposed
budget with some changes
they had discussed to such
things as the Golf Course
budget and earmarking and
placing in the Police De-
partment budget the $2,000
asked for by New Hope for
future construction costs of
the actual shelter facility
not fund raising projects.
The Board also dis-
cussed whether some
smaller items like adding a
tree well at City Hall were
simple items that could
just be approved on an as
needed basis by City Man-
ager Kee and not included
in the budget specifi cally.
Kee was tasked with being
fi scally responsible for
such projects.
Due to a decrease in the
budget for the Arts Com-
mission Randy Daughtery
pledged to donate $500
with a match by Mayor
Mosier.
Budget Board vice
chair Beverly Calder also
pledged to donate $365 for
bags at a doggie station.
Kee advised the board that
a general fund vote needed
to be done separate from a
consolidated dispatch bud-
get vote because Councilor
Downing had a confl ict.
“What we’ve done in the
past is vote on the General
Fund Admin Department
with Councilor Down-
ing abstaining. Then as
one group, we vote on the
entire budget with his vote
included and he doesn’t
have any infl uence on that
admin fund at that point
because we’ve already
voted on it. This year that
total is $1,117,636. No
changes were made to
the proposed budget it is
as proposed and includes
transfers, contingencies
and unappropriated funds.
Also included are person-
nel services, materials
and services and capital
outlay,” said Dexter.
Downing did abstain,
stating, “Because I work at
911 and receive a paycheck
I cannot vote on this.”
The remaining board
voted unanimously to ap-
prove this portion of the
budget.
The budget board as a
whole unanimously voted
to approve the 2015-2016
Budget in the amount of
$19,277,419.
Daugherty then called
for a motion to approve the
City property tax rate of
$6.3314 for every thou-
sand assessed, that motion
passed unanimously as
well.
Daugherty stated that
his term would be expiring
this year and he intended
to not seek reappointment.
“I think 12 years is enough
and it will probably get
kinder and gentler around
here without me around,”
he said with a laugh.
The approved budget
will go to the City Council
where it will be adopted at
a Council meeting before
the deadline of June 30.
Both the originally
proposed budget and the
approved budget, as well
as links to previous year’s
budgets, are available on-
line at bakercity.com.
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