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Budget study session, cont.
Lynn, Broadbent and Farra all wanted across-the-board budget cuts to create more reserve funds and/or help pay the Interfund Loans. Lynn and Broadbent asked for budget cuts of 5%. Farra wanted 20%, which Lynn and Broadbent thought was too much to ask for.
French: “We accept 5 percent. We’ll go do it.”
Asked for his input, Creighton said: “I got nothing.
This is the first year we’ve been shown every single thing in the budget. There’s nothing hidden . . . I have a family and would like to spend time with my family. I would like to get this done.”
Folkers presented some changes to the previous Recommended budget.
Revenue changes
Added $20,000 in Library fees
Added police grant
Updated the tax levy
General Fund expenditures
added $3,000 for radio station operations
added $20,000 transfer to equipment reserve for police vehicle
added $30,922 transfer to Water for hydrant costs
added back $5,730 to paint Police Dept.
changed to full-time Finance Director starting in April
added back $5,000 for recording equipment (total of $15,000)
Creighton: “It really bothers me we’re going to use general fund money to pay back the Convention Center.”
Creighton on the $3,000 for the radio station: “When are we going to stop funding people’s hobbies?”
There always is a certain percentage of people out there that expect a free handout just because they pay taxes. If it is a real emergency, medicare will pay. If it isn’t, why should they? Frivolous calls should be eliminated, and this is one quick way of doing it. Why should all citizens be paying for the abuse of just a few? Scare tactics is what passed the last EMS levy, and I see that this trend hasn’t changed.
If they instituted the $275 charge, medicare patients wouldn’t be billed, and the city could just file a claim with medicare, get the money to pay for the call, and in the end result, you may not need an EMS levy to support the EMS in 2012. The real purpose of the charge is to stop frivolous calls like “I have a headache-please bring me an aspirin” or making free trips to the retirement home to re-position catheters. Also, the less miles put on the trucks, the longer they will last.
So, is it being suggested that this $275.00 charge be in addition to the .35 per 1000 we are already paying just for the privilege of having people sitting around waiting for a call?? Seems kind of steep to me.
” if you don’t take transportation to the hospital you are charged the $275.00.”
You know, there are emergencies that don’t require transport to the hospital. I pay taxes for the city to provide emergency services, so why should I have to pay even more to use them?
Example: I have taken a fall and can’t get up. EMS responds and determines I haven’t broken anything and don’t require transport to the hospital. I should have to pay? (or should I just lay there without help.)
I do agree that some 911 calls do not qualify as an emergency and should be discouraged, but who should be making that decision?
Example: I can’t find my car keys so I call 911, because I’ll be late for my hair appointment.
5, 5 and 20 divided by three is 10. Cut 10%. Let French accept 10% cuts..Creighton should not have voted to pass prior budgets without things in them? How is it proper for a Library tax to be used to feed revenue to the general fund from which it was removed by the tax. Why don’t Friends of the Police Department paint the police station like the Library Friends re-sided the Library? Why does the huge convention center and enormous firehouse need to waste energy heating empty space. Do council and the mayor think taxpayers are ignorant and stupid and so will give them a free hand to repeat this insanity yearly and then meekly pay the bill as they slowly go broke?.
Would someone please explain to me why the Council members and the mayor ,who was a council member, will not explain to us their reason for the trying to keep everything as it WAS. I would like to know why they refuse to clean up the mess. After all it’s not their mess it’s the prior council and town manager who really got it going. And let Lanfear ruin the place.
The way it works there is if you don’t take transportation to the hospital you are charged the $275.00. It is as simple as that! If you call you pay one way or the other. No free lunch anymore.
[QUOTE]Charge for non-emergency EMS calls. No transport $275 just like Hoquiam.[/QUOTE]
Who gets to decide if it’s an emergency or not??
Beleive me, this WILL be brought up at Mondays council meeting.
Please come and let them know this is unacceptable and we will not stand for it!!!
Why is the city asking for 20k in fees from the library? How will the city use this money? I thought we voted the 22 cent levy to keep the money isolated from the city budget and the city government fingers out of the library purse.
Tell the council to “just say no” until the budget comes back dealing with the spending problems.
Even at a Bris you get at least a 10% cut!!!
Creighton has it right on the Radio Station. They can solicit “sponsor’s ads. They have done it in the past. Also, as stated in previous years by many citizens, when it was formed there was to be no cost to the city. The city minutes even support this. So, why are we giving it money? The airport is another drain on the General Fund. Charge landing fees. Charge tie down fees. Start looking for revenue from those that use these services. Pay to play needs to be the rule. Revenues should be priorities and not spending. If you can’t support it with revenue, it does not happen. Charge for non-emergency EMS calls. No transport $275 just like Hoquiam.
What a drop in the bucket. They can do 5% just by a little slight of hand. It is totally phony. Are the Creighton comments for real? His excuses for mismanagement are ridiculous. Never saw the detail in the budget during all the years he has been on the council? Did he ever make the effort to look? Should have been 10% reduction in salaries and related and 15% everything else. Including the utility business.