A rather informal budget workshop Tuesday evening had the Spirit Lake mayor and council members close to wrapping up what appears to be a messy budget process. At no point during this cycle’s budget discussions has the council been presented with comparable budget proposals from city administrators. There were no available presentations showing balanced budget options with current levy rates versus one, two or three percent increases. It has been a frustration for council members who must make decisions without comprehensive information or timely communication.
All four council members participated in the workshop which also included Mayor Jeremy Cowperthwaite, Parks and Recreation Director Mitzi Michaud, and Public Works Director Tim Wilkerson. Clerk Michelle Wharton, the administrator with the most comprehensive knowledge of pertinent budget details, was not present. Wharton’s absence left some council members with unanswered questions.
The majority of the budget discussions focused on the proposed funding of the city’s police force. The situation has degraded to the point that only one of eight positions within the department is currently staffed. Because of the department’s lack of staffing, the current FY2023 budget for salaries was not fully used, resulting in a substantial fund balance. Wharton’s only budget draft did not factor in a fully staffed police force and her projections for FY2024 budget were nearly $140,000 short.
Councilman Kenny Gross stated the importance of budgeting the police department at full staffing. “You can’t add budget dollars as you hire, we need enough money allocated now for sheriff patrols and a fully staffed police department.”
Councilman Darrell Woods echoed Gross, “We need to finalize the police budget. The proposed $140,000 cut would leave us short on officers. Why can’t last year’s unused salary funds roll over?”
Gary Ventress, who joined the meeting via telephone, was adamant that more details were needed to finalize the budget. “We need line items for transparency and ability to properly budget”, councilmen Ventress asserted. “I’ve asked for information and haven’t received it”
It was noted that a flash drive was available for Ventress to pick up at city hall and staff insisted they emailed the requested information multiple times. Due to the absence of comparable budget scenarios, it remains unclear if the information Ventress has requested is included in the emails staff sent to him.
It was agreed to remove the city’s part time code enforcement position from the administration’s budget, freeze the salaries of current staff across all departments and increase park and rec fees to bolster the police budget. The proposed police budget was amended to $728,187, which funds the department at full staffing.
Beyond the policing issues, the council wants to address future infrastructure in the city. “We need to lean-up the budget so we can plan for the city’s structural needs”, Gross stated. “Water and sewer bill increases were the result of past admins kicking the can down the road. We need to be accountable and we don’t want to add taxes or increase rates”. Gross does not believe the future needs of the city can be properly addressed without a legitimate budget process. He considers the information presented to the council from the administration closer to a business profit/loss statement than a workable budget format.
Towards the end of the workshop, an unexpected introduction of the city’s next chief of police gave the community their first glimpse of the law enforcement officer the council hopes will bring the department back to full staffing. Michael Morlan, a 27 year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, is going through the final background checks necessary before taking up the reins of the depleted agency.
The Spirit Lake city council meets again on Tuesday, August 8th at 6:30pm for their regular business meeting. The FY2024 proposed budget will be made public at that time. It is currently unknown if the proposed budget is balanced or whether it contains a surplus or deficit at current levy rate revenues.
