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Committee OKs $81.2 million budget Clerk's time debated in Ashland By DANI DODGE ASHLAND -- A clerk's hours in the independently elected city recorder's office became the most controversial item in Ashland's $81.2 million budget Thursday night. On a 5-6 vote, the members of the city's budget committee chose to accept the city administrator's recommendation to cut the city recorder's full-time clerk to a one-quarter-time position. (One committee member abstained from voting.) "We have to respect the wishes of the city administrator when it comes to personnel," said budget committee member Jim Moore. The 1999-2000 $81.2 million budget adopted by the committee Thursday is a 12 percent increase over this year's. Much of the increase is the result of big-ticket capital improvements such as the wastewater treatment plant and the Ashland Fiber Network. City Administrator Mike Freeman said he needed to make personnel cuts where he could. The budget had a net increase of 12.4 full-time employees, after eliminating 2.25 positions. He said he would continue to look at each city department to determine where further cuts could be made in the future. City Recorder Barbara Christensen has a full-time clerk this year. Freeman recommended cutting that position to one-quarter time. Christensen said she needed at least a three-quarter-time clerk, which would have cost $18,000 more than Freeman budgeted for her office. Some members of the committee, and one member of the public who spoke to the committee, were upset by the cut. "I'm concerned about the cut in the recorder's office because that office is supposed to be an independent place to get information where you don't have to explain yourself," said Ashland resident Russ Silbiger. "It seems they are using this one little clerk's position to save the budget." Committee member Richard Nichols said it was up to the voters to determine whether the city recorder is using her resources efficiently -- not the city administrator. "That's an independent office," Nichols said. "That person has authority to determine what's needed to perform her job." Budget committee member Cate Hartzell suggested that the city could cut some of the $40,000 budgeted for the city's newsletter to help pay for the clerk. But Freeman bristled at the suggestion. He said the newsletter was a priority and the committee should consider cutting his training budget instead. The majority of the committee sided with the city administrator, saying it wasn't up to the committee to micromanage city personnel decisions. Several members noted that the city recorder's office was given extra staff when she took on some extra duties like the city's newsletter. Now that she no longer has that responsibility, she doesn't need the staff, they said. And Mayor Cathy Shaw said it's wrong to assume that all the public information from the city comes from the city recorder's office. She said staff members and council members also field calls for public information. "To infer the great preponderance of calls go to the city recorder's office is erroneous," she said. "I can't imagine a councilor who doesn't get calls." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA