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What your $330,000 is paying for
At the last City Council meeting, councilors voted (Garland French cast the lone “no” vote) to approve $329,230 for Macaulay and Associates to do a Final Benefit/Proportionate Assessment Study and Report for the Street LID.
From page 30 of the Nov. 23 City Council agenda, breakdown of the estimated costs:
Charles Macaulay will be paid $250 per hour, for an estimated 90 hours of “Analysis review and consultation.” Robert Macaulay will be paid $225 per hour, for an estimated 480 hours, for “Project supervision, property inspections, individual analysis and analysis review, report completion and review, meetings and consultation.”
Kelly Hao will be paid $175 per hour for 480 hours of “Individual property analysis assistance, report preparation assistance and spreadsheet compilation.”
Paul Bird, $175 per hour for 320 hours “Analysis of commercial property including hotels/motels and condominiums.”
Ashley Zacharia, “appraiser trainee,” is to be paid $90 per hour for 320 hours of “Market research, spreadsheet compilation and report preparation assistance.”
Total hours: 1,690.
I don’t know why the city can’t add the Library to the LID. After all, it seems that the city has added street lights and the portion of funds for the sidewalks and roundabout to the LID above and beyond the grant money they received.
Haven’t you heard, Ice? I ask too many questions, already. But if someone else wants to ask, Monday night, I’ll be there with my laptop . . .
If it is just the lots and not the improvements on the property, then there should be little for them to do. Can they not get the tax rolls in a digital form to see what properties have changed hands? Can they not see which properties have been merged into one property in this same data?
Then just send us the bill.
This money was already spent when we started this thing. It is just a procedural process when they ask to spend the money. The LID Budget already had this earmarked.
As to the library, this is not General Fund money. Therefore, you can’t pay for the library out of the LID. I wish we could.
From statements made at council, I don’t think that this went out to bid. I think they are on the “list” that everyone picks from to do work.
Tom, the tax lien question from Reb should be asked. Maybe Monday Night?? If not the paper, any takers?
The city can go bankrupt when it’s debt is greater than those assets. We own nothing. The fire house has a mortgage, the city hall has a mortgage, the Weatherwax has a mortgage, and probably everything else has a mortgage. These mortgages are know as bonds. I bet we own nothing free and clear. At the current property values, what are we really worth? Good question for the county assessor.
Squeeky, if I had 1,690 hours to spare, I’d be right with you. But put me down for 40.
Anyone else want a piece of this?
any clown can write out a time report. the city needs to assign a trusted employee and a concerned citizen, to ride along with the apprasial team. no one involved in any of the past proceccees(sp) should be involved in the ride along. how about you and me,tom?
I hope that the city has the good sense to ask for time reports to document these hours when they receive the final bill, but I doubt it. They will probably, in their usual style, write them a check and send us the bill.
All that is required of them to finish this appraisal is to update the ownership of any properties that were bought between 2006 and 2009 and to input the number for the final bill for the LID so that the computer can automatically pro rate it, per lot, to give the final benefit. If any one person would spend more than a week doing this, he ought to be fired for incompetence. How would you bid a job if you knew you were the only bidder?
No wonder our city is broke! Yea let’s keep spending that money we don’t have,not support the local businesses but support Macaulay Assoc and pay them these outrageous rates and put money in their pockets! We will probably pay for their hotel stay too….Nice.
Walrus, re your comment: “Did anybody READ the law about the requirements to form a LID? If you did, you would find that an exit evaluastion is to assure that actual cost and only actual cost is included in the final billing. This prevents any extra costs from being added to the project and protects the consumer.”
Is the law you are referencing the one written by Macaulay & Associates, the consultants that City Council just approved paying upwards of another $330,000 (an average of $175 per hour)?
This is a little off the subject, but could someone please tell me why 2 properties owned by the City of Ocean Shores were listed in the Daily World County tax lien sale?
Ricki, the city cannot go bankrupt with all of the assets it has. It would have to be sold off, to include the joke called Weatherwax that could have solved everyones problems long ago…
yes, a city can go bankrupt. and when it does, the banks can sell it off as they see fit. time to learn to speak chinese.
Can a city go bankrupt?
Ouch! Jimm rocks on this one! How is the cioty going to pay for all of their property? I’m quite sure that that issue has not been mentioned. Ever! I’m sure, based on the way the city has handled things, that the citizens will pay for it in some way or another! I think it’s time to start holding people responsible. Can you say, recall????
the only benefit i got from the repaving is more water than i know what to do with………it used to run off and into duck lake.
It is clear that someone blew it for the entire city and all of the citizens who live in it! Just another example of someone in a position of authority who has no idea what he is doing! The presious poster is right, for the outrageous price that this group is asking for the library could have stayed open. This is a joke, how is it that our current administration lets the person who is in charge of this still have a job> I don’t know who is more to blame, the one who made this mess or the ones who continue to let it happen….
My question is, how much is the city city going to have to pay for this road LID? With all the lots that the city owns. The golf course, airport, parks, fire and police. permit center, city hall and Library.
I don’t see why we are paying that much when I believe that is what it would cost to keep the library open this is just out radius.
This is evaluating the property values to certify that there was some benefit. For some there was more. Others less. Either way, we have a bill on the way for all of us.
This expense was in the original process. They just have to ask to spend money everytime it is over their legal limit. It was in the original 32 Million. The fact that no one read the title of the bonds issued over the years, they forgot the capitalized interest. They also did more than was called for on Point Brown and other streets. That was to appease “people” who complained. At what council meeting they complained, I do not know. However, the work was done. Now we just have to sit back and wait for the next project. Let’s see, we have the water, sewer and …… Oh Grant Genie, give us another grant….
And yet millions of Americans are searching for jobs, jobs they would gladly accept that paid them $10 per hour. Outrageous.
Then why are they evaluating the property owners? Shouldn’t they be evaluating the contractors?
Did anybody READ the law about the requirements to form a LID? If you did, you would find that an exit evaluastion is to assure that actual cost and only actual cost is included in the final billing. This prevents any extra costs from being added to the project and protects the consumer.
i guess it’s time for a clean sweep of our elected officials. we need to sweep them right out the door.
Our properties are already valued by the Assessor office. Why is Macauly and Associates spending “hours” evaluating property? This is a total waste of of tax payer dollars. The only benefit of the street LID is that it is done. The new streets have not increased the value of our property – especially in this economy. IN fact – many of the streets are so high that I am sure there will be major issues with standing water and flooding of local business parking lots. So the reality is – the street LID will be a detriment to many property owners. And now, Council has approved to spend an additional $330,000 that “someone” failed to properly account for at the onset of the projects? Doesn’t make sense to me at all.
I suppose it silly of me to ask if this went out for a competive bid.
and i’ll bet we don’t even get a kiss.
Does the mayor and the city council actually read this stuff or do they just say yes to ken lanfear? What sort of hold does he have over them? It can’t be his excellent work record!!