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Last month during a call to the public on the agenda of the Winslow City Council, former employee Olivia Todd asked why a financial report for June had not yet been submitted. Councilwoman Samantha Crisp instructed city staff during that meeting to make sure the June report was included on the Sept. 10 agenda.
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During last week’s call to the public, Todd pointed out discrepancies she believed to exist in the June report. “In reviewing this report and comparing it to the figures in OpenGov, the city’s financial transparency portal, I noticed a major discrepancy that I felt should be called to your attention.
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“On the general fund summary, the estimated actual figure for ‘taxes’ is $6,480,791. However, in OpenGov, the actual general fund tax revenues are $4,396,495. I noticed, however, that this figure does not include Urban Revenue Sharing, which is typically included in the tax revenue figures. Urban Revenue Sharing in OpenGov is $853,934, bringing the total General Fund tax revenues in OpenGov to $5,250,429. This is still more than $1.2 million short of the figure included on the General Fund Summary.”
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Todd went on to ask, “Why is there such a major discrepancy between the monthly financial reports prepared by the Finance Director and the financial transparency portal, which pulls information directly from the city’s financial management software? Which figures can be relied upon? The significance of this difference demands investigation, not dismissal. The people of Winslow have a right to timely, accurate financial information. The information contained in the June monthly financial report before you tonight is neither timely nor accurate.”
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Because Todd spoke during a call to the public and not a public hearing, neither Finance Director Elias Jouen nor members of the council were permitted to answer her concerns.
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Jouen did deliver the June financial report. He began by saying, “This financial report is for the month ending June 30, 2019. This report is timely, Mr. Mayor. It is typical for municipalities to present the report for June at a much later date to allow time for posting all of the accruals. So, for us, this is timely. For this report, citywide revenues for the month of June totaled $2.2 million bringing the year to date revenues to $16.5 million. This is for the major funds; general funds, HURF, wastewater and so forth. Total expenditures for the month of June totaled $2.1 million and year to date totals were $16.8 million.”
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Jouen ended his report by asking, “Does anyone have any questions? I will be happy to get you the answers at a later date.”
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Crisp asked, “In the first part of the monthly financial report, we have the revenues at $16.5 million, but at the end, it shows $18.9 million. What is the difference?”
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“As I mentioned at the beginning of my report, this report is for the major funds and I listed the major funds. It includes general fund, HURF, wastewater, water, sanitation and that’s it.”
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Crisp continued, “So the other revenues are not included?”
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“They are included in the detailed line item report. And the same thing for the expenditures,” Jouen answered. “It is the same report we have provided month after month for the last 20 years.”
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The council also heard a report from NPC Friends and Family Director Betsy Ann Wilson who told the council about the upcoming semester at Northland Pioneer College. “Classes started Aug. 26 for our fall semester. I started offering workshops on how to write successful scholarship essays and applications three years ago. I learned that people think that scholarships are for the high school valedictorian that got a 4.0 grade point average but there are scholarships for everyone. We will start offering our scholarships through NPC Friends and Family with an application window starting Oct. 1. The workshop will be available Oct. 18 from any campus or center and is open to anyone who would like to come and take part. Contact the college for how to get set up with that.”
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Kelly Freeman of NPC also invited the council and citizens to a showing of Disney’s “Cars” movie at the Winslow campus at 6 p.m. this Saturday, Sept. 21. Admission to the movie is free.
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Neil Traver, Northeast Division Manager for Arizona Public Service (APS), presented a plan for broadband installation in Northern Arizona.
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Traver said, “APS is trying to help economic development in Northern Arizona. We are a significant partner in caring for all of the cities we work in. Over the last several years, I have been to a lot of economic development meetings. Over and over the top thing that comes out that is needed for Northern Arizona is reliable broadband and capacity to be able to compete with other markets. My goal is to have dedicated fiber between each of our substations, and in doing that, bring fiber into each of the communities that we have these substations in. We are already building fiber out. We will be extending capacity so that third parties can tap into it and use it for what they need. What we are going to do is bring in a 432 pair line, essentially it would bring unlimited capacity to the area.”
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Travers explained that the project will be completed in phases, with the first phase bringing fiber from Phoenix to the Preacher Canyon substation in Payson; from there, to Cholla in 2021. “Then in Phase 3 we’re going to take it from Cholla out to Flagstaff to the Coconino Substation. It creates a ring that will provide redundancy.”
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APS is accruing the cost of the project, however, as Traver explained, “The labor and equipment is very expensive. Expanding the capacity is not as expensive so, as a company we recognized that this will benefit all of the communities that we serve, so it was passed internally to make the expansion happen.”
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In other business, and in the absence of Councilmembers Judy Howell and Marshal Losey, the council:
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* Approved an agreement with and payment to Gust Rosenfeld P.L.C. for municipal legal services. The firm will be paid $10,500 per month for the term of the contract ending June 30, 2021.
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* Heard a quarterly report from Winslow Fire Chief James Hernandez. “During this quarter we had zero structure fires. We did have to replace a starter switch on Engine III, and we sent six of our firefighters to state fire school on scholarships from APS.
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* Tabled a proposed increase in salary for the magistrate court clerk due to lack of proper notice as provided in the intergovernmental agreement with Navajo County.
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* Approved an amendment to the intergovernmental agreement for court collection and criminal justice services with Navajo County. Per this agreement, the county provides justice court and city court legal services, including administration and collections.
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* Awarded a contract for unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel to Winslow Fuel Co.
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* Approved a resolution to designate the Chief Fiscal Officer for the purpose of signing and submitting the annual expenditure limitation report to the auditor general’s office.
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* Approved the appointment of Curtis Hardy to the Historic Preservation Commission.
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* Approved a proclaimed support of the use of the Arizona Education Progress Meter as the tool for tracking educational progress.
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* Approved a proclaimed Sept.11-14 as Navajo County Fair Days.
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The next meeting of the Winslow City Council will be at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 24, in the council chambers located at 115 E. Second St.
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