City budget of $4.7 million approved

The Grand Coulee City Council discussed the root of all evil at their Dec. 17 council meeting when they approved the city's 2020 budget of nearly $4.7 million.

The topic of money came up multiple times at the meeting in relation to sewer rates being raised $5, ambulance services being treated like a utility, city employee raises, and more. 

Sewer

Sewer rates, having been raised $20 a month last year, will be going up another $5 per month in 2020 for a total rate 79% higher than it was a year ago.

Councilmember Tom Poplawski said the intent of the raise is to maintain operations of the sewage system, as well as to start building reserves. 

The council also approved an ordinance changing the discounted rate from 25% to 35%, so that the $5-per-month hike in rates won't affect those on a discounted rate.

Fire & ambulance

The council discussed their intention for money brought in from ambulance fees to stay in the fire and ambulance budget rather than adding to the overall revenue for use with any city expenses.

Fire Chief Rick Paris, who announced his retirement as chief at that meeting, provided numbers on the topic: In 2019 ambulance fees brought in about $121,000, while the service cost about $95,000 to provide, with similar numbers for 2018. 

Those profits have historically gone into the city's general fund budget, and the intent now, Poplawski said, was to have that money stay in the fire and ambulance budget to go toward new ambulances or other expenses that come up. 

Although that is the intent, Poplawski said, the city would still like to be able to move the money around to different areas, if needed. 

Self sustaining

Poplawski spoke about the importance of having different areas of the city, such as sewer, ambulance, or police, be self-sustaining financially.

"That's why we raise the rates of water and raise the rates of sewer, so that they can become self-sustaining to the greatest degree possible," he said. 

Poplawski wondered if new revenue from Proposition 1 in Grant County could help fill police reserves and free up some money from the city's general fund to go to other areas. "We may be able to move general fund dollars to other areas to support general budget," he said, careful to note that he was merely speculating without knowing the details of how that money can be spent.

Approved by voters in November, Prop 1 added 0.3% to sales tax in the county for a new county jail and for city police departments.

Budget Reserves

The council approved allowing money remaining from the 2019 budget to go into a department's own reserve funds. For example, money left over from the police department's 2019 budget can go into the police department's reserve fund, rather than back into the city's general fund.

General fund balance will accommodate raises and more

Poplawski said they used the 2019 budget as a base for the 2020 budget, but 2-percent wage increases for city employees, among other rising costs, created a $42,000 shortfall, which will come out of the city's beginning balance.

"This is kind of like the balance in (the) checkbook, but we try not to use it if we don't have to," City Clerk Lorna Pearce told The Star in an email.

Pearce also elaborated more on the $42,000 shortfall.

"The $42,000 shortfall between expected revenues and expected expenditures was in the general fund and is due partially to wage increases across the board but also basic operations and maintenance in general. The revenue that the general fund receives is, for the most part, tax based and there really has not been a significant change in the amounts received but the cost of doing business increases each year, and yes, part of that increase is salaries and benefits for employees."

Pearce also said that a 2% increase is what all the employees, including department heads, receive "per the Union contract."

The council later approved a resolution setting the salaries of department heads at $9,781.21 as the monthly base salary for the police chief, $4,705.56 for the utility foreman, and $4,660.48 for the City Clerk/Treasurer. 

Poplawski voted yes to approve that resolution but spoke about the situation first.

"Almost all of our employees are paid equally or greater than [at] cities of larger sizes," he said, "and we cannot continue to do that based on percentage raises provided in a union contract or any other way. I, for one, will not raise taxes on citizens for salary increases that are already at or above [what they're paid in similar locations]."

Inset