City Treasurer Update August 15, 2013

Monday night I attended the Metro District’s first strategic visioning session to update its renewable water efforts.  The process will run several months, then determine costs for a renewable water solution for the community.  Why does this matter to the City Treasurer?  After we see the numbers for the costs of renewable water solutions we can then see if there’s enough money left in the community to fund the operation of the City.

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 7^th 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 7^th. 

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.