The Snowflake Town Council approved a $7,002,237 expenditure/expenses budget for fiscal year 2016-17 last week, a decrease of $870,147 from last year.
A public hearing was held prior to the action on July 26.
Town Manager Brian Richards noted that there were no changes since the council approved the tentative budget.
Leanne Morris had questions, observations and concerns that she shared.
She said the several line items are very general and very ambiguous, and she would like to see them defined. She was concerned that the utility fund shows a surplus, stating, “When I see that, that tells me that the rates are either too high and the citizens are paying too much for the utilities, or that money needs to be kept in a utility budget for improvements.”
She said she was happy to see a capital outlay item, and wondered how it was determined, noting that her concern is regarding dispatch at the police department. “It seems like the council is more reactive than pro-active,” she said. “I would like to see a three-year plan, a five-year plan and a 10-year plan by department.” She said she felt that would enable the departments to plan ahead and the plans would be available to the citizens. “When a capital outlay expenditure comes about, it’s a proactive not a reactive decision,” she said.
She also expressed concern that there were no line items for technology, but acknowledged that they could be lumped in other line items. “It would be nice to know what is being spent by other departments for technology,” she said.
She expressed concern about the contingency line item, stating, “To me that’s just another nebulous idea…What does it mean?”
Mayor Tom Poscharsky encouraged Morris to set up an appointment with Richards to go over her questions.
The public hearing then closed, and a motion to approve Resolution No. 2016-12 adopting the final budget passed unanimously.
The town’s finances are reviewed by an independent auditor each year, and Richards has received the Government Finance Officers Association Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the past 10 years.
Richards explained in an interview that the contingency line item is used in case of unforeseen expenditures or revenues. “We rarely, if ever, use the line item, but it is there for administrative purposes; meaning on procedure, you would have to go to the council, and the council would have to declare an emergency to increase the budget. By using a contingency line item, this avoids that extra time and procedure. The town manager has a $15,000 purchasing limit, so anything over that has to be taken to the council. This prevents the manager from abusing the contingency line item,” explained Richards.
“I implore the council to wait and for other options,” said Tony Tangelos of Taylor during the call to the public regarding a proposed marijuana grow facility. He said he has connected with Arizona State University Global Sustainable Institute and felt there is an opportunity to help them, noting, “I’m personally going to take on that exploring option.” He said they should stop the special use permit for the Copperstate Farms marijuana grow facility and work with the greenhouse option.
