10A | MAY 13, 2021 | BUDGET from A 1 the proposed budget: • “Protect our ability to provide the essential ser- vices — police, water, sew- er, street operations and the support functions that make sure those services can be provided. • “Participate in jump- starting our local economy by assisting our local busi- nesses in restarting, having projects that will bring jobs and activity to the commu- nity and supporting proj- ects funded with grants and loans. • “Be conservative in our guestimates — not too drastic — not too op- timistic. Leave some room for potential adjustments during the year.” Under the proposed budget, the city’s perma- nent rate would continue at $7.2087 per $1,000 of assessed value, which is es- timated to generate slight- ly more than $5 million of collectable tax revenue. A 2-percent taxable val- ue increase has been fac- tored into the budget. Th e 2021-22 budget also proposes to restore near- ly all city positions which were laid-off , with some changes. Talks with the Lane Council of Governments DIRECTOR from A 1 telehealth, which caused a fi nancial hit as they were providing services they couldn’t bill for. “So, like any nonprofi t, you know, money was kind of tight there,” Zepeda said. Despite the hardship, SLMH continued to serve. “I think there is a big misnomer going around Cottage Grove that we are completely closed to in-person services,” said Zepeda. “Th roughout the pandemic we have and will continue to see clients in-person based on the dis- cretion of their therapist.” SLMH’s ACT (Assertive Community Treatment) Program has remained a constant service through- out the restrictions. Th e ACT team helps people with severe and persistence mental illness to imple- ment individualized plans. “We just fi nished our ACT fi delity review and we were the only ACT pro- gram in the state that has been seeing their clients in-person throughout the pandemic,” Zepeda said, adding, “Our residential home has been staff ed with in-person providers also throughout the pandemic. Our nurse practitioners have also been providing the majority of their pre- scribing services in-per- son.” Th ough doors are cur- rently closed to the public, appointments can be made to come into the buildings. With a deep rural back- ground, Zepeda is also aiming to refi ne the non- COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL has resulted in an agree- ment to move its Senior and Disability Services into the Cottage Grove Com- munity Center when it re- opens, possibly this fall. Th e Cottage Grove Ge- nealogical Society will be moving to a remodeled space within the center and South Valley Athletics is taking the old Chamber of Commerce offi ce. Th e proposed budget is including $15,000 to enter into a partnership with South Valley Athlet- ics to expand recreation programs throughout the community, including youth summer day camp activities at the library and multi-generational activi- ties to involve seniors. Plans are also in the works to move South Lane County Fire and Rescue dispatch back to Cottage Grove by creating posi- tions for four new com- munication specialists and the designation of a com- munications specialist lead position within the police department. It is hoped the change will dramatically reduce response times and im- prove safety. As previously reported on in Th e Sentinel, sewer rates are set to rise by an average of about $6.45 on July 1. Th e move to raise rates was voted on unanimously by the Cottage Grove City Council on April 12, based on a fi ve-year fi nancial plan presented on Feb. 22 from the city’s consulting fi rm FCS Group. While FCS Group re- ported that customer growth alone would be suf- fi cient to provide for rising operating expenses in both water and stormwater, cap- ital plans and operating expenses for sewer caused the need for the rate in- creases. Th e report recommend- ed three years of 12 percent rate increases. During the fi rst day of the budget committee meeting on May 6, Councilor Mike Fleck asked city staff to ex- plain the steep increase in personnel costs which saw a jump from $634,568 in the 2018-19 fi scal year to $999,365 in this proposed budget for 2021-22. Fleck worried that this increase is unsustainable and would be passed on to the ratepayer. Staff pointed out that these numbers had already been factored into the FCS Group fi ve-year plan and that it would actually save money in the long run as infrastructure projects will be done in-house rather than through a third party. “Caution should be tak- en when comparing actual expenditure numbers to proposed budget num- bers,” stated a memo to the committee on Tuesday. Succession planning is also a signifi cant factor in planning the budget as several personnel will be retiring. Meyers summed up the proposed budget as way to segue easily into a post-pandemic world should restrictions ease. “Th e 2021-22 proposed budget lets us hit the re- set button and be ready to restart programs and activities,” he wrote. “We don’t quite know when that restart will be, but this proposed budget gets us ready to move forward quickly and recover from the pandemic even better prepared.” Th e city council may vote to adopt the proposed budget as early as May 24, when its next meeting is scheduled at 7 p.m. Due to continuing COVID-related restric- tions, the public is encour- aged to attend meetings virtually by visiting the city’s website, accessing the relevant agenda and using the corresponding GoTo- Meetings link on the agen- da page. profi t’s focus for an area like Cottage Grove. “One of my values is really understanding the culture of poverty and making sure that every- body here is getting train- ing on the culture of pov- erty,” he explained. Th e United State Census Bureau estimated Cottage Grove’s poverty rate to be nearly 20 percent in 2019. For a family of four, that meant living on less than $25,750 for the year. Rural areas also have higher rates of trauma victims and substance abuse, said Zepeda. Th ese troubles can be multiplied when public transporta- tion is sparse. “I really want to strive to meet people and serve them where we can,” he said. “We do send clini- cians to foster homes, re- tirement homes, nursing homes, just depending on what the client needs. We really want to break down that transportation barri- er.” Since taking the helm of the organization, Zepeda hopes to put SLMH’s full menu of services to use and expand others. “So we have a full range of services that you can get here in Cottage Grove,” he said. “We’re kind of a one-stop shop. Whether you’re prescribing here, or you can go to a group, you can go to see a therapist one-on-one and you can get case management. … I think that’s something that’s really special to our agency that we can pro- vide these wrap-around services to really have a lot better mental health out- comes.” As a bilingual leader of the organization, Zepeda is also well-positioned to communicate to a wider client base. Th e agency recently started its ALAS Program, which provides services to the Spanish-speaking com- munity “We’re really trying to provide more services in Spanish in the schools,” he said. SLMH is also connected with the upcoming Com- munity Health Center, which is slated to begin construction this year. In a recent move, the nonprofi t announced its move to make use of solar energy with a grant from Pacifi c Power’s Blue Sky program. With a solar ar- ray now installed, SLMH hopes to save on energy costs and dedicate more of its budget to off ering mental health care services as the community slowly emerges from the pandem- ic. 15% OFF Any service with coupon Schedule your appointment Today! Not Valid on any service Exceeding $100 • Expires 05-31-21 Not valid with any other offer. Our People Really Make The Difference! 541-942-4415 • 2775 Row River Road • bradschevy.com Administrative Aide at LCOG (Spanish bilingual preferred) Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) seeks an Administrative Aide for its Senior & Disability Services (S&DS) Division. Provides administrative support to various programs. Greets and assists the public, staff, and others by phone or in person, providing information of a general nature as authorized. Spanish bilingual preferred. Full time, with full benefits package. This position is expected to start on June 28, 2021. Full job description and re- quired application are available online at www. lcog.org or by calling LCOG at (541) 682-4283. DEADLINE: May 18, 2021 at 4 p.m. EOE/AA Case Manager at LCOG Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) seeks a Case Manager for the Senior & Disability Services (S&DS) Division. This position manages a caseload comprised of adults with disabilities 18-64 years of age and/or senior citizens. The caseload includes clients newly admitted to service, as well as clients who have been receiving services from S&DS for a period of time (i.e., on-going clients). Full time, with full benefits package. This position is expected to start on June 28, 2021. Full job descrip- tion and required application are available online at www.lcog.org or by calling LCOG at (541) 682-4283. DEADLINE: May 18, 2021 at 4 p.m. EOE/AA Contracts Manager at LCOG Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) seeks a Contracts Manager for its Senior & Disability Services (S&DS) Division. This position will support and develop Older Americans Act (OAA) programs, Oregon Project Independence (OPI), and other Senior & Disability Services community programs. This includes development and monitoring of related contract agreements and requests for proposals, new program and service implementation, and supervi- sion of program staff as assigned. Full time, with full benefits package. This position is expected to start on June 28, 2021. Full job description and required application are available online at www.lcog.org or by call- ing LCOG at (541) 682-4283. DEADLINE: May 18, 2021 at 4 p.m. EOE/AA Teachers Make Our World a Better Place Thanks to the dedicated educators who help our community’s kids learn, thrive, succeed and create a better future! My Boy’s Pizza Adventure! 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