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COUNCIL CORNER Council Corner: Show me (how you'll spend) the money Comment By Stef Seffinger DailyTidings.com By Stef Seffinger Posted Jun. 9, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Stef Seffinger Posted Jun. 9, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News This is my first year as a member of the Ashland Citizens’ Budget Committee, an advisory body established by state statute for the purpose of hearing the budget message and reviewing the budget proposed by the budget officer (in Ashland, that’s City Administrator Dave Kanner). Preparing the budget for the committee is a six-month task by many dedicated city employees. In 2013, the city of Ashland was again awarded a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, so they do their job well. The Budget Committee consists of the mayor, our six elected council members and seven citizen members appointed by the City Council. The committee began reviewing the proposed budget for the 2015-2017 biennium in May. The final adoption of the budget by the City Council will occur June 30. So what does the budget committee do? Ashland is blessed to have a dedicated citizenry willing to take on this daunting task. This group studies the proposed budget, holds public meetings to allow citizens to provide input, approves the budget with any changes agreed upon, and sets the ad valorem property rate. Quite a task! So where does the money come from? Many places. In the coming two-year budget cycle beginning July 1, the city will generate $20.4 million from property taxes. These are unrestricted general fund dollars used to finance such public services as police, fire and funding for the Parks and Recreation Commission. The transient occupancy tax (TOT) will generate $5.2 million. By state law, 26.7 percent of this must be used for tourism promotion and tourism-related facilities. Much of that goes to the Chamber of Commerce’s Visitor Bureau, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, downtown beautification projects and grants to support tourism-related initiatives. The non-tourism portion of the TOT goes into the general fund where it supports economic development and economic, cultural and sustainability grant programs. These monies are awarded in a competitive process to many different organizations, including the Ashland Gallery Association, ScienceWorks, Thrive and Farm to School. We have a tax on prepared food and beverages that will generate $5.5 million over the next two years. This money goes toward wastewater treatment debt and park development, including purchase of open space. Charges for services are a large portion of city income. These include electric utility charges ($29.5 million), water ($13.9 million) and wastewater ($10.8 million). These and other charges for service pay for expenses associated with providing electricity, water, sewage treatment, high-speed data services, operational and construction needs for transportation, and storm drains. There are also miscellaneous charges, permits and fees to pay for ambulance transport, inspections, parking, recreation, construction services and cemetery services. In addition to paying city staff, providing benefits, administration costs, operations, maintenance, public safety, planning and payment on what we have borrowed, the city also allots money for capital improvement projects. Each department, along with the Parks and Recreation Commission, presents a list of improvements they would like to make. In the case of Parks and Recreation, their elected Parks Commission decides which projects will go forward with the allotted budget dollars. Since there is not enough money to fund all the projects requested, the budget committee looks at council goals and determines which projects best support these goals. During the budget process, department staffs present expenditures they believe will be most important for development of their departments. For the next budget cycle, a few of new expenditures you will see include body cameras for all police officers, expansion of the Fire Adapted Communities Program, training programs, new defibrillators for city ambulances and fire engines, increased use of The Grove for recreational programs, emergency preparedness workshops, and additional cadets for summer patrol to make downtown safer. As a council liaison to the Forest Lands Commission and the Ashland Fire Resiliency Project, I believe an important new addition to the budget is the establishment of a permanent funding source for maintenance of fuel reduction in the watershed completed by AFR. A dedicated surcharge has been added to water bills to help keep our watershed healthy and decrease the chance of a catastrophic fire. Stef Seffinger is a member of the Ashland City Council. By Stef Seffinger DailyTidings.com By Stef Seffinger Posted Jun. 9, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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