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New revenue boosts library
12/8/2010 9:28:48 AM

The library benefited, Trailhead Golf Course did not, as Liberty Lake City Council budget discussions Tuesday turned to how to allocate extra revenue that wasn't part of the original 2011 budget proposal.

Mayor Wendy Van Orman said the Council has an estimated $140,134 of unexpected revenues to add to the budget, and Council members discussed how to allocate the funds.

Of this amount, an estimated $83,717 is anticipated to come from the failure of state initiatives to privatize the sale of liquor – a move that would have cost local governments the revenue from liquor tax. Because the initiatives had yet to be voted on at the time of the original budget presentation, those revenues were not included.

In addition, city attorney Sean Boutz said the $18,600 in salary increases for mayor and City Council members could be reallocated to other areas of the city.

"The question came up as to the decision by the salary commission," Boutz said. "After reviewing the meeting minutes, looking through enabling documents, there was a procedural defect that made the decision of the commission null and void."

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Another estimated $37,822 of additional revenues not allocated in the budget would come from the property tax levy approved by Council members at the Nov. 16 meeting. The original budget reflected a property tax levy to $1.68 per $1,000 of assessed value, and the Council voted to increase that to $1.72.

Speaking for the finance committee, Mayor Pro Tem David Crump recommended to the council that $25,000 of the new revenues go toward the library budget – bumping its funding up to about $340,000. The finance committee's recommendation stipulated that the adjusted budget would maintain the current salaries of employees, minus any adjustments that might occur from the reduced weekly operating hours from 46 to 40.

In regards to Trailhead Golf Course, Council Member Josh Beckett spoke for the finance committee saying that after review, the committee recommended not to reinstate the laid-off employees for the season.

"We can't make any mathematical sense to reinstate them," Beckett said.

The Council, which asked Nov. 16 that the laid-off Trailhead employees be temporarily re-hired to make a presentation about saving their positions, was told by Van Orman they declined. Further discussion, and an e-mail from former Golf Superintendent Ron Knudsen to The Splash last week, show Knudsen spent "several hours" preparing a presentation, but was told it was "unethical."

"We have suggestions for a budget, would have presented our ideas, but were told that we essentially couldn't," Knudsen wrote The Splash.

During budget discussions, Council members went through numerous concerns regarding expenses and discussed areas that could be considered for an increase in funding.

Cost concerns were expressed regarding the lack of animal licensing funds that go toward animal control costs. Council Member Judi Owens said she didn't trust the contracted animal control service provider to canvas neighborhoods in 2011 to make sure all animals were licensed. She said the city's animal licensing fees currently cover part of the animal control expenses, but more could be covered if licenses were more diligently enforced.

Council Member Ryan Romney also suggested drastically cutting the budget for the city's newsletter, asking to consider only e-mailing the newsletter or looking for alternate ways to distribute it.

When discussing the allocation of new revenues, Crump suggested allocating funds to the police department for new patrol cars.

LLPD Chief Brian Asmus requested funding to replace the two cars in the department's fleet that have more than 100,000 miles on them.

Overall, the Council stressed the importance of access to more in-depth information and line-item expenses in almost every area of the budget. Specific requests included numbers on road maintenance costs, Trailhead Golf Course costs and planning and city employee salary schedules.

"I think a bunch of us have asked specifically for a line-item budget and we've yet to get that," Council Member Odin Langford said.

Council Member Susan Schuler asked to be "respectfully excused" mid-meeting, expressing frustration and saying she'd come back when the requested information was available.

The budget recommendations are not official until the budget is finalized. A special meeting to continue budget discussions was scheduled for 6 p.m. Dec. 14 at City Hall.

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