PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, MAY 14, 2021
$48M city budget unveils
financial toll of chaotic year
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The city’s budget committee gave its blessing to a $48
million budget after two meetings in the first week of May.
The budget, which covers everything from office sup-
plies to road work, includes nearly $9 million in spending
for infrastructure-type projects and approximately $1.8
million in debt service payments.
City residents can expect small increases in water and
sewer rates and a $1 increase in the police services fee if
the budget is adopted by the Keizer City Council in its
current form.
There will likely be a public hearing on a police fee
increase at a future city council meeting. The new bud-
get represents a small decrease from the previous year
primarily because of funding the city received from the
federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security
(CARES)Act.
Even though the final numbers are staying relatively
similar, the tumult of the past year and its economic
impacts of the pandemic, the hacking of city computers,
an ice storm and the recent resignation of the city man-
ager could be found throughout the budget proposal.
Some of the unexpected additional expenses incurred
by the city included:
• $38,000 in additional attorney’s fees related to the
city manager firing a gun in his office in March until his
resignation a month later. The figure includes an $8,000
for an internal investigation. An additional $45,000 is
being budgeted for the coming year as the city council
navigates the hiring of an interim and then permanent
city manager.
• Rental revenues from the Keizer Civic Center were
reduced to nothing as a result of precautions taken to
limit large gatherings and halt the spread of COVID-19.
• Oregon’s portion of proceeds from the state’s gas
taxes are expected to decrease as a result of residents
being encouraged to stay home. City Finance Director
Tim Wood said Keizer’s allotment could be reduced by as
much as $120,000.
• City officials expect to spend about $60,000 more
next year on shoring up its computers and networking
systems against future cyber attacks. City computers
were hacked in 2020 and the data was held for $48,000 in
ransom which was covered by insurance.
• An ice storm in February cost the city more than
$94,000 with money to support the efforts coming out of
the city’s street and parks funds. Public Works Director
Bill Lawyer said he believed most of those costs would
eventually be reimbursed.
• As a result of the pandemic, the city lost 24,000 in
revenue from a ground lease at Volcanoes Stadium.
• Keizer lost about $80,000 in revenues from the city’s
two hotels as travel ground to a halt during the early
months of the pandemic.
Aside from money secured from the CARES Act, there
weren’t many bright spots in revenue generation. The
revenue increases that appeared spoke more to our vices
than virtues.
• Despite losing a marijuana shop, Keizer’s revenue
sharing from marijuana sales increased by $14,000 in
2020-21. The city expects to collect $397,000 as its portion
of taxes on sales this year.
• Alcohol consumption was up in the past year. Keizer
expects to collect $40,000 more in alcohol taxes than it
did the year prior. Cigarette taxes, which had been trend-
ing downward, bumped up slightly.
• The trend of cable-cutting also reversed for the first
time in years and the city will collect about $5,000 more in
cable television franchise fees. Cable-cutting is the aban-
donment of cable television for internet-based entertain-
ment services.
• The amount the city collected in System Development
Charges, fees developers pay to the city to upgrade and
maintain infrastructure to support new developments,
increased by $140,000. Lawyer said the uptick was mostly
the result of Chick-Fil-A deciding to open a new location
in Chemawa Station.