POULSBO – 2006 was a banner year for Little Norway financially as the city entered 2007 with more than $900,000 in general fund carryover.
Now the question is how much of the surplus to spend this year and how much to set aside for future needs, when revenues may not be as high.
That’s the dilemma the council’s finance/administration committee continued tackling at its March 21 meeting, when council members were asked to prioritize new program requests and baseline adjustments from the city’s department heads.
“This is what (former city finance director) Nanci (Lien) warned us about,” city budget analyst Deb Booher told Councilman Jim Henry and Councilwoman Connie Lord. “Now that there is money, we will have to decide how to spend it.”
With the budget carryover from 2006 and the previously approved new program requests, the city has $694,846 in its coffers, but Booher recommended that $129,094 of that be placed into the city’s revenue stabilization fund, leaving $565,752 for the council to consider spending.
The total cost of all the new program requests is $536,091, which would leave less than $30,000 in carryover for the remainder of the year.
“We have enough to fund everybody who asked for carryover, but I don’t know if that’s prudent,” Mayor Kathryn Quade said.
Requests include a new council recorder to tape council meetings and laptop computers for council members as part of the new city hall furnishings once the building is constructed.
Quade suggested the council purchase the new recorder for $7,500, but earmark the $21,000 for new computers to ensure the funding is available when the need arises.
“We’re going to have to keep tabs on it, so we know it’s earmarked,” Lord said. “We have to keep council informed on what’s in revenue stabilization, but it’s not really there.”
Since the process study of the police department hasn’t been completed, Quade recommended the committee set aside enough money to pay for a new officer as well as being able to backfill for a sergeant’s position in the department.
That was also the recommendation of Councilman Dale Rudolph and the entire committee, because until the department’s process study is completed, the actual needs of the department won’t be known.
Adding another officer to the department would cost $129,790, and Booher told the committee to remember that includes a new vehicle and equipment for the officer.
“There are some one-time costs associated with that,” Booher said, adding that all of the department’s vehicles are part of a three-year rotation.
Among the other requests being considered are the addition of a new information technology specialist, another accounting technician in the finance department and paperless city council packets.
