Currently the City does not have the revenue needed to meet
its obligations. Bills are paid every
month, except the big bill, which is street repairs. I’ve asked that a few dollars be spent to hire
an independent qualified person to determine what the cost of street repairs
actually is, but it seems a majority of the current members of the City Council
do not want to know that number. One
council member made a guesstimate on their own.
It appears the estimate follows reasonable methodology, though I
personally have no background to speak to how accurate the number truly
is. He believes the costs run to a
couple million dollars a year for a few years, and then tapers down a bit. I asked around beyond that effort. A well informed individual on the topic, who
is a non-combatant in such discussions, pegged the number higher, at two to
three million dollars per year. In 2013,
City Council voted to spend just $500,000 for street repairs. Conditions proved worse than anticipated, and
that number got bumped to $750,000. I
support the Council’s action to increase the spending on streets. That figure is less than half of the
Councilman’s estimate, and maybe only 25% of the non-combatants estimate. I do not believe we’re currently heading in
the right direction on this topic. The
City doesn’t have enough money to do everything it wants, and actually,
I’m plenty OK with that. However, the
City does not appear to have the amount of money to do what it needs to
do. And that’s not a good thing in my
view.
You need to know that these street repairs needs are not
one-time figures, but annual costs. The
longer you don’t fund the needed work, the more the needed work adds up, and
worsens. Roads don’t simply go
unpaved. Their condition deteriorates
through normal use and weathering. When
you finally do repair roads that have been neglected, the costs to fix things can
get exciting.
What should we do?
Get a real estimate of the cost to maintain the streets, explain the
situation to voters, then ask voters if they want to pay what it costs to have
a City, or not. If we’re $3 million
short per year, and there are 3,000 homes, an average cost is $1,000 a year per
household, or about $84 per month. Either
it’s worth it to you, or it’s not. Let’s
take a little time and a little bit of money to firm up that rough estimate,
put it out there, and let voters say what they want to do. This isn’t difficult. You just have to want to do it. If you’re OK with the cost of water, and with
the cost of paving the streets, then you might want to pay a little more to
have a rec center, or a city building, or a robust library, or other community
amenities. These things all cost money,
and some things are likely a higher priority than others.
The other financial matter we should think about is the cost
to fulfill the entitlements that were granted when new zoning was provided to
LaGae North, The Canyons, and LaGae South.
Fees paid by land use interests will cover most of these costs. We just need to make sure we maintain a
robust ability to fulfill the tasks for which we are obligated.
City Council recently conducted interviews for the City’s 7th
manager. I asked the candidates the same
standard question, “What’s the biggest issue facing the City?” The guy who didn’t get hired said, “Figuring out how to pay for the
streets”. The guy who said, “Figuring
out a vision for what the City wants to be when it grows up” starts October 7th.
The election for Treasurer, Mayor, Clerk, and one council
member in each Ward is coming up in late October to early November. But the deadline to sign up to run for those
offices is fast approaching. You have to
get some other residents to sign your petition to run for office. If you’re thinking about running, right now
is the time to get that lined up. If
anyone is thinking of running for Treasurer, I’d be happy to share my thoughts
if you’re interested. I am not planning
to run for a second term.
There’s a ballot question about whether you should elect the
Treasurer, or have the City Council appoint the Treasurer. You may be wondering if we should even have a
City. It’s a fair question, but you must
acknowledge the horse is out of the barn.
If you’re happy to get your financial points of view from the City’s
communications firm, let the Council appoint the Treasurer. If you’d like someone who’s not paid by the
Council to share views on the financial condition of the City, you might want
to elect the Treasurer.
Thanks again for the opportunity you have given to me.
