Hardly News

By MICHELLE MCLEAN
Hillsboro city commissioners pounded out a 2008 budget in a four-hour special meeting Wednesday night.
The final $3.2 million budget is expected to be approved at Monday’s regular meeting. By comparison, the 2007 budget called for $2.5 million in expenditures.
A special budget hearing is set for Monday at 7:30 p.m. at city hall.
The budget increase can be traced to two major items — debt retirement for recent street and water projects and additional expenses in the electric department.
As part of the routine budget process, city leaders approved raises for most city employees.
Chief of police Ray Weber was granted the largest pay hike — $4,800. Weber is already being paid a portion of the higher wage — a $350 monthly bonus while he trains new officers. The bonus has been in place since February. The raise for 2008 makes the bonus permanent, explained police commissioner Lorraine Tibert.
“It saves him the trouble of having to ask for the extra pay when he’s training a new officer,” she said. “He’s training officers all the time as they come and go.”
Weber heads a two-man department and essentially works alone while a new officer is in training.
Other employees were also rewarded with healthy raises $125 to $300 a month — “ twice what was given last year,” noted commission president Kevin Burg.
City crew workers Jim Baumgartner, Jon Hams and Richard Haugen earn between $29,900 and $31,600. They were all granted $125 additional per month.
City hall staff received larger raises. Auditor Lesley Connelly, on the job for a little over a year, was given a $250 a month raise, upping her salary to $39,000 in 2008. Deputy auditor Becky Foss was given a $175 month raise. Her salary is $27,499 in 2007.
City supt. of public works Jim Anderson was not given a raise Monday. He negotiated a $7,200 17-percent pay increase in June when he was offered a higher paying job elsewhere. Anderson turned down a new job paying $18,000 more per year to stay with the city, where he has worked for 12 years. He earns about $50,500 a year.
Last year, employees were given raises of 2 to 4.5 percent. This year’s raises ranged from about five to 13 percent.
The raises granted Monday will cost the city about $15,500 in additional expenses for wages and retirement benefits, auditor Connelly estimated.
The 2008 budget — as proposed in its final form — forecast $3.2 million in expenses and $3.1 million in revenues. The $100,000 shortfall will be covered by spending reserves, auditor Connelly explained.
Revenues were estimated to increase $500,000 over 2007.
Some additional revenue will be generated by higher utility rates. Fees for electricity and garbage collection are slated for increases later this fall or early next year.
The general fund will continue to rely on transfers from “enterprise funds” to stay in the black — but just barely. Revenue producing accounts like the electrical fund can by law be tapped to fund other city services.
In the 2008 budget, two large but typical transfers will come out of the electrical fund — $106,000 will go to the general fund and $75,000 to the street department. About $246,000 is available to transfer. Minus the budgeted transfers, the electrical fund will still grow its reserves to $600,000.
In the sales tax fund, the city’s one-cent share of revenue is estimated at $100,000 a year. An equal amount is collected by the city and channelled to the school district to pay the debt on the Hillsboro Events Center, a move approved by voters in 2002.
Of the city’s share, $28,000 is earmarked for the armory, $22,000 for the pool and $10,000 for the sewer lagoon project. Another $9,000 is budgeted for advertising, $3,500 for the cemetery, $2,900 pays for the summer library program and $2,500 will go to the new recreation district next year. About $22,000 is left for the commission to distribute as it wishes. The sales tax reserve is expected to grow to about $143,000 by the end of 2008.
Commissioner Mike Lessard repeated his proposal to use sales tax revenue to pay for some of the infrastructure upgrades planned for 2008. He suggested that $10,000 a year be earmarked toward financing the street work on Hwy. 200 and another $10,000 a year be set aside to pay for the underground water and sewer work. He noted that the annual contribution would last as long as the special assessment for the work, perhaps 12 to 15 years.
Commission president Burg noted that the sales tax fund could be tapped for up to $300,000 over the 15 years.
Lessard said he had wanted to see gas tax money used for the Hwy. 200 work but that “outside” money was not available. The sale tax was approved in 1998 with revenues earmarked for city infrastructure, city buildings and economic development.
“This is infrastructure,” he insisted.
Lessard will make the formal request to use sales tax money as a funding source once bids are let for the Hwy. 200 project next spring.
He promised it was something he wanted to have in place before he leaves the commission — which could be next summer.
At Wednesday’s special meeting commissioners chipped away at an anticipated deficit in the general fund. After “nickel and diming” a laundry list of line items, commissioners had eked out a $300 positive balance, calculated auditor Connelly.
That figure changed after salary increases were factored in.
Since 2005 the general fund has carried a negative year end balance ranging from $7,000 to $20,000.
Last year, supt. Anderson dropped his request for a pair of used pickup trucks for his crew. This year the request to spend up to $24,000 was granted. Anderson also provided bid prices for a new backhoe and payloader. He cautioned that the equipment ranges from five to 10 years old and will need to be replaced. He warned that 10 years ago the commission was forced to buy several new pieces as old equipment simply quit working. He again urged a regular replacement schedule for major equipment.