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Where Did the Money Go?: Part II
Last week’s North Coast News asked people “Where did the money go?,” referring to the $2.2 million in “reserves” (or ending balance) that the City of Ocean Shores spent down, in less than two years.
Next week’s story will focus on the year 2007, when, among other things, 13 full time employees (FTE’s) were added and new union contracts were signed, under the guidance of then-City Manager Rich McEachin.
Any thoughts on spending/expansion or otherwise in the McEachin era (Nov. 2006-Dec. 2007)?
Was the spending a big part of our current problems, or was it other factors (recession, Weatherwax vote, etc.)?
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17 Responses to “Where Did the Money Go?: Part II”
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We pay 34.54 cents per thousand for the Port. That figures to be $ 470421.10 on our assessed value of 1,361,960,357. By the way, the school district values can also be found there. The district is valued at 1,768,654,296. So, the rest of the district outside of Ocean Shores is valued at 406,693,939. Something to think about. Maybe it is time to tell the county assessor to do her job correctly. All that land and so little value. I guess they have a different view of the ocean.
You ask too many questions.
(Must be a Tom thing.)
How much tax revenue is collected from Ocean Shores for the Port of Grays Harbor?
Uh oh, I said it.
That’s a good point on the convention center, i.e. the interfund loan making up the two and three percent shortfall, not the general fund. However, if the hotel/motel tax fund continues to come up short in its ability to meet the convention center debt payment, then I assume (I know, assumptions are dangerous) that the loan will have to be repaid from the general fund. And if I remember correctly, the financing for the convention center was ultimately guaranteed against the general fund?
So I guess you could say the convention center debt is a potential drag on the general fund. Maybe. I had forgotten about the PFD?
Didn’t some of the original financing for the center come from the county?
Was that a one-time deal?
Does the county provide any continuing funding for the center? PFD? What percentage of the debt load comes from outside sources?
All of that said, I do think the city is much better off with the facility than without it even if the city made a major stretch on the peak of the revenue curve to get it done.
Maybe we can get a clean final summary of the budget from the city. The current city FilePro shows so many various editions with supplements now. Also, is this the whole budget or just the General Fund?
Maybe it’s the wrong “25 employees” that are no longer a part of the OS budget.
Walrus: Please refer me to the buget page, org chart or other city document that shows “25 employees are no longer part of the OS budget”
And is your $2 million less with or without interfund loans?
” Has anyone noticed that about $2 million dollars and 25 employees are no longer part of the OS budget?”
Then why is the city still in such a mess???
I say again. Has anyone noticed that about $2 million dollars and 25 employees are no longer part of the OS budget? It wouild seem that all the naysayers conmveniently do not know or ignore this FACT !!!
Sorry,
I thought that there was at least a 50,000 dollar appropriation from the general fund to the Convention Center each year. I’m also not sure if any of the convention center staff benifits, insurances, and retirements are collected against the general fund?
I also noticed that “hold-them-accountable” directed us to a “Vallejo,” Calif. bankruptcy. Where you aware that they are one of the U.S. installations of the MIEC water system? Interesting, but applicable? Who knows?
The major claim for their bankruptcy appears related to unsustainable salary and benifit increases for personnel. Who knows, but this also sounds familiar?
The facts given in that link sound so familiar. Time to check Washington Law….
Here’s some interesting reading:
http://www.muninetguide.com/articles/Vallejo-Bankruptcy-Filing-Garner-282.php
Then there was the surprise write-off of a $450,000 interfund loan to pay for a parking lot at the Convention Center which was needed so it was said to service a new Convention Center.
It is used as an overflow parking lot about three times a year as any resident can directly observe. The interest from that $450,000 could have covered rent or parking fees to the Shilo Inn for that parking lot because it is 97% empty the rest of the year. After three years, no payments were made to retire that interfund loan. The city was loaning money to itself and the loan was written off. The State Auditors Induced city management to resolve the non-payment. Bonds were issued, bond fees were paid to the city’s favorite bond brokers.
The loan is still on the city’s books and Ocean Shores taxpayers are paying interest and principal for the bonds. They also paid for items like the two very expensive electronic signs the convention center has purchased because of lack of proper maintenance and a poor purchasing decision for the original sign. Aren’t expenses like these a drag on the general fund?
Since the sign funds came out of funds for the convention center maintenance budget, money has to be borrowed from the citizen’s utility funds not only to make up for declining hotel/motel revenue but to keep the building from rusting away.
Why do the taxpayers of Ocean Shores only get to endure all this pain? When the Public Facility District fades away and county sales tax contributions end, the general fund will have to cover all mortgage payments on the building that the hotel/motel tax can’t cover.
The tax payers will have some more cost per thousand pain to endure on top of coming school, EMS, library, interpretive center, road maintenance and road L.I.D. taxes and assessments. People are selling out and declining to move here. If the Real Estate Excise Tax doesn’t cover the the fire station bonds in a few years the taxpayers will have to be taxed to cover that shortfall also. Where will the breaking point be because higher state and federal taxes are coming also?
Every experienced taxpayer knows that once taxes are imposed the city, state and federal union demands will make sure they never again will ever be lowered. Borrowing is becoming less of an option to cover unbalanced budgets. Good, ethical management is the inoculation and that is very hard to come by everywhere.
Wise: I’m not entirely convinced the Convention Center is a “drag on the General Fund.” How so? Doesn’t most of its funding come from the hotel-motel tax? (And the recent loan was from utility, though you could perhaps call that an indirect on the GF)
And everything I said about economy of scale in my previous remarks, should include the convention center. As Tom Hyde indicated in his well thought out (money part one) lecture, the economics of building a new covention center was not well thought out, yet the county (entire north beach) receives much of the benifit through visitors and taxes and should be paying a bigger share of the pain. Talk about a drag on the General Fund?
DUH?
Your reprinted Guest letter from Williams was spot on (under part one.) Over spending, over hiring, over confidence (by the pasts ill prepared ‘leaders’) and ill advised schemes to pay for the results of lawsuits are all part of the equation.
Although, the truth be told, we for some reason believe we are entitled to caviar diets on hamburger revenues. The only real answer to our problems is to realize that we are the heart of Grays Habor County, to demand support and quit trying to do everything ourselves. Many people feel that Aberdeen or Hoquium are the heart! If you believe that, read the property assessments, and count the visitors!
The problem is that we are the cash cow for the county (all taxes and Port contributions,) but not our own coffers. Sure, our full time population at the peak of the summer may have reached 5,000. However, most of the year we probably hoover around 2,000 to 3,000. Sure we have some big week-ends with 30,000 to 50,000 tourists traveling thru. But remember, we have less then 1,000 hotel rooms and most weekends they are less then full.
Yet, we behave, spend and provide year-round services (to Ocean Shores) as if there is truth to the phony average number of 5,000 to 10,000 residents per day! Baloney!
Our emergency services, and utility services (sewer, water, etc.) need to be North Beach or county wide. The only reason that we have a fairly well run PUD is that it is county wide. By sharing the overhead with the rest of the county, we can provide adequate planning, administration, engineering, architecture, technology and back-up. Think of the water system! Sure, there may have been some short term benifit to buying the Australian system. But, what about all of those things I listed above? – Planning, admin., engr., arch., tech., etc, etc, etc! We are a one horse town, with one person to do all of that professional work. Will we always have the “one” person with all of the skills? No! And that is what keeps happening to us, over and over and over again. (Remember our previous finance Director.)
Until the tri cities come out of their economic slump (hopefully their port activies may pan out), we need their contributions to help defer our costs of services because we shore them up with our taxes and port contributions. Sure, the water coud end up costing a few pennies more short term for a shared North Beach water district, but in the long term there is savings in economy of scale.
Because of the small size of our population (and unlikely hood of a quick expansion,) economy of scale makes common sense for most of our services. – Emergency (fire, medical, police), utilities, medical clinic, senior, library (?), parks, etc.
We should be demanding the counties support. We are they!
I’m sure the spending is a major factor but as I understand it, the Weatherwax property was purchased as an investment. Some investment if it can’t be sold off when we are in dire straights.
That vote blows me away. Even though it was an advisory vote, the council and major are treating it like the final word.
Of course we can’t discount the effect of the recession on visitor count but has it hurt the city that bad? Only our local businesses, especially the motels can say for sure.