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Ashland city manager proposes 2 ballot measures By Morgan Rothborne Updated: Jun 15, 2022 08:03 PM A A Two city-initiated ballot measures were unveiled Tuesday during a special Ashland City Council meeting. One would change the food and beverage tax ordinance, and the other would be a charter revision that would put all city employees under supervision of the city manager, including parks employees. “Just a draft — rough draft language — my late-night. What the heck, I’m up late; I may as well write this so you have something to work from as a catalyst,” City Manager Joe Lessard said as the proposed ballot measures were passed around the room. The proposal to amend the city’s food and beverage tax ordinance would allow that tax revenue to be used for police, fire and rescue, wildfire prevention, city parks, open space and trails, recreation and senior services and emergency event housing. Under current law, at least 25% of the tax must be dedicated to parks, and up to 73% can go to street repairs. Two percent is for the costs of collecting the tax. City Council previously has allocated all of the food and beverage tax to the Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission, along with money from the general fund. APRC’s budget is now $7.2 million. In order to change the way food and beverage taxes are used, a ballot measure is required, Lessard said. In an interview, Lessard said the ordinance and use of the money involve a covenant with the voters. The city manager’s proposed ballot measure would allow for broader discretion on the part of the council on use of the money. City councilors and Mayor Julie Akins responded to the proposal by raising some pros and cons of the change. Councilor Gina DuQuenne said she would like to see the money go to citizen concerns, such as housing and economic development. Lessard responded that he believed the council had a habit of limiting itself by allocating funding to specific needs, making it difficult to respond to changing priorities. Akins said the broad language would make the council more nimble in responding to a changing world, a thought echoed by councilors Paula Hyatt and Stefani Seffinger. Councilor Tonya Graham said it could be better to simply give the entire food and beverage tax fund to APRC, as she felt the commission did not trust the council to adequately fund it. In interviews after the meeting, current and former APRC commissioners expressed concern over the proposal. “For the city of Ashland, our whole history of parks has strove toward parks excellence. If this occurred — it’s a move toward mediocrity,” said APRC Commissioner Rick Landt. Former APRC Commissioner Michael Gardiner said he felt maligned by the council since the beginning of 2021, when APRC’s historical funding source, a portion of property tax dollars, was revoked in favor of the entirety of the food and beverage tax, along with additional general fund money. Over the past few months, Gardiner said, a group has formed called the Friends of Ashland Parks, Trails and Open Spaces, which he described as APRC commissioners, individuals from the Ashland Parks Foundation and concerned citizens. The group has drafted a ballot measure of its own, which would dedicate the entire food and beverage tax fund to APRC. Unlike the ballot measures proposed by the city manager, the Friends of Ashland Parks, Trails and Open Spaces measure would need 3,000 signatures to make the November ballot. “This biennium the commission’s number one goal was finding a dependable funding source — this was a step in that direction,” Landt said of the group’s proposed measure. At the meeting, Councilor Stephen Jensen expressed concern that competing and similar ballot measures would cause confusion and be fatal for both measures. He urged a meeting between two city councilors and two parks commissioners to reach some middle ground on a single ballot measure. Lessard said that was a good idea, but he said the council would want to see the next item before continuing. The city manager moved to the next slide in his PowerPoint presentation and said he believed a section of the city charter needed to be deleted. The second proposed ballot measure would give the city manager authority over more city employees, including parks employees. Under the current city charter, APRC is responsible for appointing, supervising and removing parks and recreation employees. The proposed ballot measure would bring all city employees — except those appointed by council or elected by voters — under the authority of the city manager’s office. The proposal was characterized as a “bombshell” by Gardiner. “For the last 114 years everyone else has been able to figure out how to get along — now the new city manager can’t seem to figure it out,” Gardiner said. “I simply think it’s an attempt to destabilize parks and recreation to the point that Ashland Parks and Recreation commissioners become nonfunctional, so that in the future, more budget cuts can happen and there’s no commissioners to stand in the way of it,” said Parks and Recreation Director Michael Black. Deputy City Manager and acting Human Resources Director Sabina Cotta said the measure was an effort to streamline benefits and expectations for all city employees, and to simplify payroll, which she described as complicated. In an interview, Lessard said the proposed change to the city charter was meant to repair an inconsistent application of policy. “It’s important that we have consistency throughout all city departments, that all city employees be under the same polices — especially for the relationship with the human resources department — so if there are any problems in any departments no matter where they are, they can be dealt with,” Lessard said. Both ballot measure proposals will be discussed further at a future council meeting, the date undetermined. Reach Mail Tribune reporter Morgan Rothborne at [email protected] or 541-776-4487. Follow her on Twitter @MRothborne.