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RVCOG collects cash for debt relief By SANNE SPECHT for the Mail Tribune A representative from the Rogue Valley Council of Governments is meeting with city and county officials this winter to assure them their money is in good hands - and to collect on dollars promised for a cash reserve. At the Rogue River City Council's February workshop, RVCOG Director Michael Cavallaro said the city's $1,580 contribution toward the cash reserve was helping the organization pay its bills on time while waiting for state and federal reimbursements. Rogue River councilman and RVCOG liaison Dick Handbury said the reserve was helping resolve the organization's cash flow problems. "When Mike came in, they (RVCOG) were in a pretty chaotic place," said Handbury. "Now they will have the cash reserve to cover their day-to-day operating expenses without borrowing money." Last May, RVCOG asked its member jurisdictions to contribute anywhere from several hundred dollars to more than $48,000 (proportional to their annual dues) to establish an internal cash reserve and retire a $200,000 credit line it used for routine expenses. Most agreed to contribute the money over a three-year period. Medford and Grants Pass elected to provide interest-free loans. Josephine County declined to contribute, citing severe budget constraints. About $80,000 has been collected so far, Cavallaro said. He's visited 11 jurisdictions, with Gold Hill his last stop later this month. "The reception has been very good," Cavallaro said. "They (the jurisdictions) are quite pleased with our progress in the past year." Cavallaro, who took the helm in May 1998, says prior poor management decisions and inefficient billing practices created chronic cash flow problems that needed to be resolved. "When we were having these difficulties with cash flow in the past, we were forced to wait to pay our vendors," he said. "A great deal of friction was created between us and our contractors. "Most of the months last year, we just barely made payroll. We have just under 50 full- and part-time employees. "But there were no projects that were damaged and there was no process that was compromised," he added. Cavallaro says RVCOG has changed its billing practices so that more money comes in sooner, dividing large projects into small "deliverables" that can be billed frequently. Helping RVCOG's cash flow is the repayment of two large debts - a 15-year, $159,000 Department of Human Services advance and the $200,000 line of credit. RVCOG is a 30-year-old voluntary association of governmental agencies. It coordinates programs that involve more than one jurisdiction, provides planning in areas of transportation, land use, community development and water and natural resource management, and assists in the implementation of regional services for national programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. Sanne Specht is a free-lance writer living in Rogue River. She may be reached at [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.