From time to time, in response to public questions, I'm going to post some FAQs here. One questions frequently asked is: “If the City is struggling with finances, why does it continue to spend money on a new water tower, new street lights, and a new Public Works plow truck?” The answer is that most of the funds used for these items do not come from the General Fund. These items are funded from special funds and grants. The State does not allow this special funding to be used to pay for employee wages or benefits, training, utilities, etc. Also, these projects are designed to improve service to you, save the city money by reducing electric consumption, and keep employees and the public safe.
There are incidental costs to these projects that come from the General Fund, such as publishing of Public Notices, postage, and staff time to process reports and track the finances. Therefore, for the past three months, we have imposed a halt to all "new projects." Of course, City Council can always direct the staff to do a project.
If you have a question that you would like an answer to, please let me know.
No comments:
Post a Comment