The Wrangell Borough Assembly held one of their last budget work sessions last Wednesday evening, June 17, to finalize next year's budget for the city. For FY 2021, Wrangell is looking at revenues of $4.48 million in the general fund, but expenses of $4.78 million. Much of the discussion in this workshop revolved around the general fund, and how to handle its deficit. The workshop lasted for about three and a half hours. In the end, the assembly directed city administration to move forward with the budget in spite of the deficit.
According to the agenda packet for the evening, the budget gap was originally around $1.2 million dollars. However, the city worked to shrink this down to about $800,000. Wrangell also anticipates being able to cover some payroll expenses from CARES Act funding, which brought the deficit down even further. Department heads were asked to take another look at their sections of the budget to see what could be further cut. The most recent deficit that the assembly was facing, in this meeting, was $224,353. In addition to cuts and transfers of funds, Borough Manager Lisa Von Bargen said in the meeting that they believe they can get even more salary reimbursement from CARES Act funding.
"What became apparent is even though in this year's budget we had an $800,000 deficit, because last year's general fund budget was approved with a deficit, we had to bridge that gap as well," she said. "So it ended up being a $1.2 million deficit ... We were able to increase what we believe the offset from COVID for wages for FY 21, from July 1 to December 31, to about $640,000."
One area of proposed cuts that received a lot of discussion was in the public works department. This department was looking at further expense reductions of $90,103. Most of this would come from the retirement of a maintenance technician, whose wages are between about $65,000 and $87,000. According to the agenda packet, leaving this position unfilled will impact snow removal, water distribution, and sewer collection system repairs. This also leaves the department with only one individual properly certified to install and repair water and sewer mains. Rolland Howell, public works director, was not happy about these reductions.
"I think this is a very bad decision, actually," he said. "I wasn't consulted on this until yesterday ... Public Works is a support department. We support and help every single other department in the city. Every single department. We fix water, sewer, streets, storm drains, we assist the sewer department with all their maintenance of all their pump stations, which there's 41 pump stations in our system."
If something happens to the water or sewer systems, Howell said, and the other qualified employee happens to be out of town, the city would not be able to fix the issue. He also said that it takes several years for someone to get the proper qualifications. If the other properly licensed employee leaves, he said, Wrangell would need to find another qualified person to work under, otherwise they would not be able to touch their system.
Assembly members were divided on leaving this position unfilled. Assembly Member Julie Decker agreed that this was an important position, and they shouldn't leave it empty. Mayor Steve Prysunka said that this was not an issue for the current budget, as the other qualified employee was not due for retirement yet. However, he also said that this pointed out an issue of the city needing to better train up employees to get higher certifications, and he asked Von Bargen to look into ways they could improve in that area. Assembly Member David Powell felt that Howell was overselling the seriousness of the situation.
"We had a strike a while back, and we had somebody come in and everything worked just like it was before," he said. "I know it's going to cost a little more money, but losing a Level I, a Level II, it'll happen. We're not just going to shut down the city water and sewer because we lose a guy. I'm not in favor of losing this guy, but I am not going to be pushed into a scare tactic either."
The fire department was proposing to reduce expenses by $21,505. Most of this, according to the agenda packet, came from $17,000 for air compressor block equipment. This was equipment the fire department has been looking to purchase for some time, Von Bargen said. Fire Chief Tim Buness explained that the compressor provides air for their self contained breathing units (SCBAs), which is important for firefighters working in smoke-filled areas. The compressor the fire department currently has is about 12 to 14 years old, he said. Mayor Steve Prysunka added that other city departments have made use of the equipment in the past, too. With all of this in mind, Von Bargen said she would like to add the cost for the new compressor equipment back into the budget.
In light of the current financial situation, Buness added he would like to cut about $4,000 out of his department's budget for Fourth of July fireworks, as that money could be used elsewhere in other community service organizations.
Capital facilities was another area of discussion for the assembly. This department is looking to shrink their budget by $28,200, but also add $5,000 in costs for facility maintenance. The capital facilities department is aiming to save money, at about $7,000 annually, by moving into the same facility as the electrical department. The assembly spent some time debating whether or not the move was a good idea currently, and when it would be best to put the department's current building on the market. After some discussion, they decided that it would be best to relocate the department and move ahead with selling or leasing the existing property as soon as possible, to bring in more revenue.
The administration department has proposed additional cuts of $26,195. Von Bargen said that some of this was coming in the form of a pay cut for herself, so she could keep some money aside for travel purposes. The clerk/assembly budget has expense reductions of $19,865, largely from cut travel and material and supplies. The finance department is further reducing costs by about $3,840.
The Wrangell Police Department is making additional cuts of $25,000, in capital equipment and boat expenses. However, they are adding $6,000 in expenses for four new bullet proof vests and Tasers. There are no changes to expenses in the corrections budget.
There was also a $10,000 expense for heating system piping replacement cut from expenses for the Public Safety Building.
Funds for street maintenance was cut by a further $34,000, from a variety of supplies and materials. Garage allocations were reduced by $7,000.
$50,000 for a columbarium for the cemetery was also cut.
During the workshop, the assembly also discussed potential budget reductions in the areas of community service donations. The assembly largely agreed that they did not want to cut this budget, which covers donations to radio station KSTK, the chamber of commerce, and the senior center. They also considered reducing health insurance coverage, but Powell said he was not comfortable with doing that to city employees if they were still going to keep the community service organization budget. They also considered various avenues of bringing in more revenue, such as pursuing bad debt and online sales taxes. In the end, the assembly felt that city administration had done their best with what they were given, and they felt comfortable with moving forward.
"I'm hearing, I think, and someone can throw their blue hand up if they disagree, but I think folks are expressing a comfort with running a deficit budget," Prysunka said. "So I think you can plan to that."
Reader Comments(0)