Diana Thomas

A couple of interesting items in regards to the City budget that many people don’t understand. I mentioned two weeks ago that two of the departments that have their own levy are the Airport and Library. Even though they appear to be just another department in the City, this is not the case.

The Airport is actually funded through the County as a levy which can impact their levy level. The airport is in the county but the property is owned by the City. The County has given decision making entirely to the City at this time and the City oversees the property and works with the FAA and State Aeronautics on grants and maintenance of the airport. There is an advisory board who works with the airport manager at the airport to offer advice and suggestions to the City on the needs of the airport.

Financing can be tricky when dealing with State and federal grants to maintain the airport because in most cases, the City must pay up front for projects and then seek reimbursement which requires us to keep on top of spending closely to make sure the funds are available when purchases are made. Like all other projects when state and federal monies are involved there is lots of oversight and paperwork.

Now the library is a different situation. It has its own levy and is governed by a Board that has sole say so over expenditures other than the City Council has the responsibility of overseeing the formal budget process and approving the appointment of the Library Board members who must be residents of the City. Oversight of day-to-day expenditures is the responsibility of the library board. They are also responsible for the hiring of personnel. Currently, the library has only part-time employees.

The rest of the City Departments are overseen by the Mayor and City staff and supervisors. These again are divided into the General Fund, individual levies and the Enterprise Funds.

I received a brochure from the United States Census Bureau in the last month. They are gearing up for the 2020 Census and are looking for government and community leaders from education, business, healthcare and other community organizations to form a CCC (Complete Count Committees). The purpose of this CCC is to create awareness in communities and “to educate and motivate residents to participate in the 2020 Census”. If any groups are interested, contact me and I will provide the contact information for our area in Los Angeles.

Work continues down West 9th Street, most of it going south. The intersection will be rough for a little longer with the different departments working in the area. There is also some continued work on Park Street replacing the last of the manhole covers after the scrub coat. The Electric Department has worked on the relocation and replacement of the decorative light on the corner of State and Court Streets. Regular maintenance continues while the weather is good. The Street Department has the sweepers out trying to get the streets cleaned up. There are quite a few trailers being left parked on the streets which hampers our ability to clean. Please park trailers off the roadways.

Due to a shortage of drivers next week on the garbage routes, there will only be one pickup the week of September 24-28. Two-a-weeks pickup is expected to resume the following week and continue through October.

Harvest has begun, please drive carefully and slow down. Enjoy the fall weather and the blessings of harvest but be careful.

From City of Weiser