PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, MAY 15, 2020
Pandemic concerns make for static city budget
• Community Development Director Nate Brown urged the
traffic, the data simply isn’t ready.
By ERIC A. HOWALD
• Revenues for the city’s street funds are in limbo at the mo- members of the committee to think long and hard about expand-
Of the Keizertimes
ing the city’s code enforcement
With so many unknowns in play for the city’s financial future, ment. Money from a 3-cent gas tax goes into
program.
one recurring refrain from budget talks this week was that nearly the account and gas sales are down. Repaving
“At some point, as we con-
River Road North from St. Edward Catho-
every city department expects to save money on travel.
tinue to mature, the city should
Many of the regular conferences that city employees attend lic Church to Wheatland Road is the largest
take a hard look at how we ad-
have either been postponed, canceled or will take place online as project in the works.
minister the code enforcement
• Revenues for the water fund will also
a result of precautions designed to limit the spread of COVID-19.
program. We don’t do any of the
Despite the pandemic, and some questions regarding how it likely fall in the short term. The city is not
proactive stuff that other juris-
will affect city revenues, Keizer will be in a relatively stable po- turning off access water to residences, but
dictions do,” Brown said. “We’re
sition because of the limited scope of services it supplies to res- some are falling behind on bills. Wood, the
city’s finance director, said there is currently
idents.
— Nate Brown complaint-driven and respond to
about $17,000 in utility
“When you hear about other cities
Community development director the issues that become significant,
but there is more that could be
bills that are 60 days be-
making big cuts, it’s to their discretionary
done.”
hind payment and another
areas, like libraries,” said Keizer Finance
$42,000 that are behind 30 days.
Director Tim Wood. “We don’t have those
City Councilor Marlene Parsons questioned why the duties
“The city is reaching out to arrange pay- of the code enforcement officer hadn’t shifted to development
and it makes us very nimble.”
ment plans and work with them. We hope to
If there are cuts to be made, they will
Please see BUDGET, Page A10
have them caught up by the November/De-
likely occur in limiting the number of
cember time period,” Wood said.
capital projects the city undertakes in the
Wood said that usage of online payment
next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
has ramped up since the civic center closed to
The city anticipates an overall increase
walk-in and that has increased the fees it pays
in wages of about 2 to 2.5 percent, an in-
to the payment processor, but it may turn out
crease in insurance rates of 7 to 8 percent
to be a good thing in the long run.
and an uptick in spending on its wellness
“If more people stick with the online pay-
programs intended to encourage greater
ment after the pandemic, we may be able to
participation by offering up to an addi-
— Tim Wood
refocus the personnel time elsewhere,” he said.
tional $500 a year in incentives per em-
Keizer
finance
director
In a continuation of budget talks on Tues-
ployee. The city’s wellness program has
day, May 12:
proven to be a boon in both retaining
• Members of the committee discussed the city’s general fund,
employees and lowering insurance costs.
Major elements discussed at the teleconferenced meeting the bulk of which goes to paying for police services and is also
the fund the city has the least control over as far as revenues.
Monday, May 11, included:
• An uptick of about $18,000 in planned legal services spend- Its solvency is tied mainly to property tax increases (roughly 3
ing. City Attorney Shannon Johnson plans to enlist the help of percent a year) with licensing and fees making up another large
outside agencies to help him catch up on projects that fell to component.
• COVID-19 will have some major impacts on this fund, some
the wayside in the recent years. Johnson spent several months
of the past year deeply involved in a lawsuit to end the firing of good, others less heartening. On the “positive” side, there’s been
no slowdown in marijuana sales – the city will collect an estimat-
high-powered firearms in a quarry across the Willamette River.
• The city is still not planning to purchase a human resources ed $230,000 from the sales made in Keizer, taxes on liquor sales
information system more than a year after the initial need was are also trending upward to the tune of 13 percent more during
made known. The cost is about $15,000 to set up and substantial- the year to date. The pandemic may end up causing significantly
more harm in terms of traffic court dates being delayed and the
ly less than that in continued maintenance.
• Keizer Public Works Director Bill Lawyer said he planned to payments expected following suit, interruptions to minor league
report on how much a new civic center HVAC system was saving baseball and, potentially, the end of the Volcanoes will likely re-
the city but, because the pandemic closed the center to public duce what the city receives from the stadium lessee.
“The city should take
a hard look at how we
administer the code en-
forcement program.”
“When you hear
about other
cities making big
cuts, it’s to their
discretionary areas,
like libraries. We
don’t have those.”
THE
OF HEALTHCARE
Honoring Nurses
Amanda Burdine, LPN
The Village at Keizer Ridge
Education: Institute of Technology
THANK YOU
to our amazing team of nurses for keeping our
community healthy during this difficult time.
Bridgeway is open and providing services!
#BridgewayStrong
SPONSORED BY
1165 McGee Ct NE, Keizer • 503.390.1300
www.villageatkeizerridge.com
Dawn Pope, MSN, BSC, NRN
The Village at Keizer Ridge
Education: Walla Walla University
Brenda Donley, Victoria Kapurara,
Heather Brown, Vera Carbaugh, Jerry Stewart,
Jessica Lyons, Vicki Brauer
Not pictured: Chrystal Espinosa, Heather Karpan, Stefan Sicard, and Donald Davis
SPONSORED BY
1165 McGee Ct NE, Keizer • 503.390.1300
www.villageatkeizerridge.com
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