By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com
The Yachats Budget Committee on Wednesday approved general fund and capital improvement budgets for fiscal 2019-20 that focuses on catching up with infrastructure work and starting remodel or replacement projects on three city buildings.
The $1.15 million general fund budget is for daily operating expenses, including everything from payroll to legal fees to maintenance.
The $952,000 capital improvement budget this year focuses on water and wastewater operations, streets, and money to move city offices into the 501 Building, expand the library and start on replacing the Little Log Church.
Although there were major moves of money various categories throughout the budget, the overall numbers for expected revenue and proposed 2019-20 fiscal year spending were almost identical to the current year.
The budget committee is made up of the five-member City Council and five citizens, three representing city commissions and two at-large. The budget vote was 9-1, with at-large member Brad Webb voting no.
The council is scheduled to vote on the budget in June.
The committee met to walk through the two-inch thick budget department-by-department with City Manager Shannon Beaucaire, debate certain parts and approve it one, six-hour marathon meeting starting at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Although there was discussion and debate about other items in the budget, the longest was over whether to authorize $142,000 in capital spending this year — and a planned $150,000 in 2020-21 — to begin replacement of the church portion of the Little Log Church and Museum.
At least five members expressed hesitation on proceeding with the project before the museum board and its charitable arm showed they could do substantial fundraising, as the city has asked.
Museum board chairman Karl Christianson acknowledged that major fundraising will be a challenge. But he said the group is consulting a lawyer to see about changing its tax-donation status and is reaching out to local groups for support.
“We are pursuing fundraising and we know we have to do it aggressively,” Christianson said.
Webb, Leslie Vaaler, Lance Bloch, John Purcell asked if there should be a much smaller amount allocated to the museum this year until construction costs are clear, fundraising has started and to see if the city can win grants. The money could be put in reserve and if the city later needed money, they said, and Beaucaire could come back to the council with a supplemental budget request.
Webb argued to wait until construction bids were received and to see if motel owners would challenge use of lodging taxes on the project before proceeding.
“Every single project we’ve undertaken we’ve had a problem with,” he said.
Bloch said the budget allocation seemed premature.
“It sounds like we’re very early in the process of fundraising,” he said. “I have trouble seeing $300,000 when we don’t know the true cost and the amount of fundraising.”
Beaucaire said while the city and museum board will seek grants to help with construction, applications are viewed more favorably if there is city monetary commitment.
Purcell’s suggestion to set aside $75,000 for construction and $10,000 for plans and engineering did not gain traction and the committee approved Beaucaire’s proposal.
Warnings over lodging taxes
The owner and manager of Yachats’ two largest motels generating the bulk of lodging taxes told the budget committee they believe the city is using much of the $1 million in transient lodging taxes it collects on projects outside of those defined by state law.
Some 39 percent of the taxes are supposed to go to “tourist amenities.”
Drew Roslund of the Overleaf Lodge and Fireside Motel and Anthony Muirhead of the Adobe Resort contend that only one item in the budget – the chamber-run visitor center – meets that definition. The Little Log Church, the library and the Commons, in their opinion, largely do not.
“I’m not asking today to tear apart your budget,” Roslund said. “I do request that you start heading in that direction.
“If I had any request today it would be to remove the library from the visitor amenities fund,” he said. The budget proposes $52,500 of $370,000 in visitor amenities funds be used on a library expansion project this year.
Muirhead said many of the cities across Oregon that rely heavily on tourists to pay for city services are wrestling with the same issue. “But it’s the law we have to work with,” he said.
Muirhead also said he is leading a group to revitalize the Yachats Chamber of Commerce and plans to approach the city with specific ideas for use of the taxes, for better marketing and community involvement.
Both said the chamber group plans to meet with the museum board over the next few years to help it become more of a tourist draw.
Other takeaways from the budget
- Budgets for building maintenance were increased dramatically across all categories. Beaucaire said the city had woefully underfunded maintenance in the past to save money and was paying for it now. “We need to make sure we are maintaining the assets of our buildings,” she said. Beaucaire, in response to Webb’s questions about maintenance plans, said facilities manager Heather Hoen is drawing up plans and a list of maintenance priorities for all buildings.
- Beaucaire again budgeted $80,000 for code enforcement position, which has been largely vacant or handled by a one-day-a week city planner for the past year. She told the committee she is also exploring plans working with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office on enforcement.
- Beverly Wilson, who runs the Visitor Center, explained a $25,000 increase in their budget to $116,000 was mostly to run a series of contests over social media throughout the year and for downtown beautification projects.
- The water department has $390,000 in its capital budget – compared with $76,000 spent so far this fiscal year – for a variety of maintenance projects. These include a water master plan ($60,000), earthquake valves ($60,000), upkeep to the water plant ($48,000) and it’s share ($89,000) of a new vacuum truck.
- The wastewater department has $338,000 in its capital budget – compared with $64,600 spent this year – for a variety of projects including a pole building ($80,000), a waste water plan ($90,000), repairs to the main shop building ($45,000) and its share ($89,000) of the new vacuum truck.
- Beaucaire budgeted $114,000 to move city offices from the Commons to the 501 Building, including $29,000 for information system development and $75,000 for remodeling and equipping the office space.
- Webb, who has voted against budgets in the past, later explained his “no” vote as general dissatisfaction with city spending, his feeling that the general public is not involved in decisions, and problems with budgeting for maintenance with no concrete plans in place. He said he would prefer that money go to build reserve funds and then spend it as the need arises.