By Randy Kugler
It’s been almost a month since I submitted questions to the City under their new “ask us any questions” invitation. Since my questions involved the Budget, I asked that the questions be included in a scheduled Budget Committee Workshop Agenda so that the public could both see the questions and have the opportunity to be involved in this discussion. Mayor Stock emailed me after the Workshop had taken place and took responsibility for not allowing either the questions to be included in the Workshop packet nor the opportunity for a public discussion to be included in that Workshop meeting. As neither the subsequent April 30th Budget Committee meeting nor the posted May 7th Budget Committee meeting packet on the City website does not include my questions, I must conclude that the Mayor does not want to entertain any questions involving misstatements by the City Manager for which the Council has no answers.
The Council has asked that citizens not take to social media to ask questions or comment about City business because it leads to the spread of misinformation. There is nothing preventing the Council from answering my questions but to date I have had no response. Given the City’s inability to provide any answers, I will offer a series over the next few weeks with questions on overhead cost charges to the Water Operating Fund that the Mayor and Council do not want to answer. I will start with the following explanation by our City Manager on the use of Water Operating Fund transfers to pay for City Hall staff to plan and conduct City Council meetings..
“The costs incurred to plan and conduct City Council meetings provide a good example. City employees have to manage the calendar, consult with the mayor, prepare an agenda, produce documents such as draft resolutions or ordinances, explain proposals, record meetings, produce minutes, answer councilors’ questions, and post meeting information on the website.” (March 6, 2023 City Manager memo to City Council).
For all of FY 2022/23, approximately 144 Agenda items were brought to City Council meetings by City staff. A total of 3 topics or 2% of the total Agenda items for the year involved the Water Operating Fund. The 3 Council meetings involving the Water Operating Fund were all workshops led by the Public Works Director to discuss new water rates. Contrary to the above City Manager’s claims, no Resolutions, Ordinances or memos were presented to Council by City Hall staff nor did the City Manager consult with Mayor Simmons on water rates prior to any of these three meetings.
The Water Operating Fund cannot be charged to pay overhead costs for City Hall staff efforts for managing Council Agenda items, of which 98% in FY 2022/23 had nothing to do with the Water Operating Fund. If this is a “good example” to explain the transfer of Water Operating Fund dollars into the General Fund for City Hall staff overhead efforts then we should all have concerns over other explanations being put forward by the City to justify these transfers.
In lieu of any common sense explanations on how these overhead allocation transfers work in Manzanita, be prepared to hear that this is how Warrenton does it and that is the only explanation the Council needs to provide to us.
Next time you see the Mayor or a City Councilor, ask them to explain exactly how the Warrenton model works in Manzanita. While you have their attention, remind them that in the past 4 Budgets, approximately $675,000 has been transferred from the Water Operating Fund to the General Fund for City Hall staff overhead expenses and why is the City Manager proposing another $199,357 be transferred from next year’s Budget now being prepared?
Simple question. Do you prefer to keep more of that water rate increase revenue we are now paying in the Water Operating Fund to cover the costs of operation, maintenance and needed upgrades to the water system that we have been told are desperately needed or should we be content that Warrenton knows what’s best for Manzanita?
