Polson city council extends public budget meeting

FULL STORY

The public meeting that was expected to be short took longer than the meeting that was supposed to go long on Monday at the Polson City Council meeting.

The public meeting for the preliminary budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year took 45 minutes compared to the 15 minutes the public meeting to extend the medical marijuana meeting took.

During the budget portion, the fact that the proposed budget will pay for employee's families to be included on the insurance caused a stir.

It was questioned whether or not that was fair due to the fact that the hard economic times have forced many residents to cut back on their own health insurance.

City manager Todd Crossett said that a large number of employees opted out of the option.

“I need them to be able to show up for work and I need them to be healthy,” he said.

The coverage has high deductibles and is mainly used to cover catastrophes.

“If an employee is in danger of losing their house because a spouse or child is unhealthy or has a serious disease, I'm not going to be getting their full attention at work,” Crossett said.

The employees were allegedly notified before the council had a chance to review the policy.

“The city employees have it,” commissioner Ron Boyce said. “But taking it away from the employees after we give it is something I just can't go along with.”

Commissioner Elsa Duford agreed.

“We didn't get any information until it was done,” she said. “I feel really bad that this got ahead of the council and we didn't have a chance to discuss it. I have to think about the people in this community and how they are going to live with it. Most can't insure their families to begin with.”

Crossett said that historically that decision was made by the city manager.

“We didn't have the numbers until mid-June,” he said. “I understand economic times are tough, but we also have to take care of our employees so we can keep them.”

It was stated that many more city employees have insurance than in years past and the fact that Crossett was able to shop around for plans was a plus.

The library budget was also discussed. The council wanted to figure out when the new district will kick in so they budget more precisely.

The budget went up 12 mills from the city, from 145 to 157, and add in the 11 mills from the library as Polson residents are looking at a 23 mill increase.

“The taxable value was raised again,” commissioner Mike Lies said. “That will cost me $126.48 in increased taxes.”

Another part of the budget under fire was the $52,000 budgeted for raises.

“We are not having cost of living allowance, but there are some wage increases, mostly for people that are changing positions,” Crossett said.

A couple positions within the city are being vacated due to retirement and instead of replacing them, the city has chose to promote within.

“They are being asked to do more work,” Crossett said.

“We have less people and the people that were leaving were making more than the people coming in,” Mayor Pat DeVries said. “We should be under in wages.”

Commissioner Fred Funke said this makes the council look like the bad guys.

“If employees are already told they are going to get an increase, the council says no because it's not in the budget, we look bad,” he said. “It's almost like a done deal.”

With time running out on the scheduled hearing, the council will extend the meeting at 6 p.m. on Aug. 25 in the chambers. The city has to have the budget set by Sept. 16.

During the medical marijuana meeting, Joyce Weaver explained reasons for extending the moratorium, which the city did during the regular meeting. After this time, the council can only extend it once more.

During the regular meeting, Crossett thanked city clerk Aggie Loeser for her help as she is retiring.

“I very much appreciate all of her help and guidance,” he said.

Loeser is leaving after almost 21 years and the Aug. 16 meeting was her last.

“You might want to turn off your phone, though,” Crossett warned. “We might be calling you for help on this budget.”

Crossett also updated the council on the Streestscape project.

The plan is to tape off corridors and create safe zones for people to go in and out of buildings. No one will be allowed on the streetscape construction site without proper equipment.

“This can't be a backyard kind of project,” he said. “This is held to Federal standards.”

The crew will be working Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Complaint forms can be found online for those who chose to use them.

A third street crew member was hired. John Hart will start in the upcoming weeks.

As for Skyline Drive, Stelling Engineers hopes to have a preliminary design by Aug. 24. The project's start point will be 13th Ave. in order to connect it to the utility corridor.

CDM Engineers will also be conducting Highway 93 corridor and Polson area transportation studies in order to understand how the traffic is flowing as part of the expansion of Highway 93.

A meeting will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on Sept. 9 with the location to be determined.

“[The expansion] wouldn't be for several years,” Crossett said.

The project, a collaboration between the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the City of Polson and Lake County, has been in the works for about a year.

The council also voted to reauthorize the Lake County joint airport board to add a representative from CSKT to the airport board. St. Ignatius has already signed their resolution. This will help with the potential land swap. The FAA would make the purchase but one of the requirements is to have long-term use plans in place.

Mayor DeVries also proclaimed the fourth Monday of every September is a day to eat dinner with your children, citing a study that proves the abuse of controlled substances by children is less for those who eat dinner with their family on a regular basis.

The next council meeting is Sept. 8.