Financial planner set for RCC

RONAN — The city council voted to advertise for a “financial officer” during Monday’s meeting, a decision that may face serious scrutiny as Ronan grapples with setting its fiscal year 2010-2011 budget.

Motioned by trustee Ann Brower and seconded by Paul Soukup, the action passed by a vote of 4 to 1, with trustee Cal Hardy the lone dissenter.

“I think we should move forward with at least advertising and see what we get in the way of applicants,” Soukup said.

The decision had been discussed during previous council meetings and the council’s finance committee met last week to go over a job description and look at ways the city could fund such a position.

Brower emphasized the fact that this posting would hopefully bring in applications, but wouldn’t bind the city to hiring someone for the position.

“With the job description we’ve created, it would take someone pretty qualified to fit the position,” Brower said. “The money angle would be depending on experience.”

Concerns about hiring for the position included the potential cost, and whether the salary would be equivalent to what the work would save the taxpayers.

“From conversations we’ve had, a qualified person is going to cost a good chunk of money,” mayor Kim Aipperspach said.

To pay for a finance position, councilmembers said they would possibly have to cut the hours of city clerk Kaylene Melton, a proposition that did not sit well with Melton. The council vowed to review places in the budget to take money if a qualified applicant does indeed apply for the position.

The finance committee explored other options as well. Soukup reported on his calls to the University of Montana where he inquired about potential internships. He found that the school had very specific requirements for what the student could do in the position. They would need to log 150 hours on site and would need to be paid, he said. The accounting students take governmental accounting classes in the spring and the position would have to have limited clerical duties. Ultimately, an intern did not appear to be a fit, Soukup said.

“There are very specific duties they expect of students,” he said.

Accountant Jennifer Cote attended the meeting to discuss the fiscal year 2008-2009 budget, which she has just about finished auditing, but bigger concerns seemed to be with the upcoming fiscal year’s budget, which has yet to be ratified. Aipperspach said most departments’ budgets were settled, except for the police department and library. Both departments had members on hand to discuss various issues.

Aipperspach said there was approximately a $9,500 disparity in the police budget, with no apparent solution.

“Do you want to tell him we can find $9,500, or for him to work within that?” Aipperspach asked the councilmembers of the police budget.

Assistant police chief Art Walgren adamantly stated that there is only one solution.

“Don’t expect us to come in under budget, unless we close the doors,” he said. “If you want to keep cutting us, it ain’t gonna work.”

The library seemed similarly monetarily stressed. Library board member Frank Delgado said he had sent a letter to the council about having the budget pay for the lone employee salary of $40,000, but had not received a response. Delgado said state law requires local governments, including city and county, to pay for 50 percent of a public library’s budget.

“If the governments fail to meet that requirement for the next two years, the state will take our classification away, which means the library won’t qualify for grants or state money,” he said. “If we can’t consistently come up with money for the library, then we’ll have to come up with a contingency plan.”

Aipperspach said that the council had asked departments to work off last year’s budget allotments and to hope the number was the same. Library board member Dick Gallagher said that amount would not be sustainable.

“The part you gave us can’t even keep the doors open,” he said. “We’re a valuable asset to the city. Each day it’s open, more than 100 people walk through those doors.”

In other news, councilmember Marcia Ganieany resigned from her post and did not attend the meeting. She apparently announced her intent to resign at a special meeting the previous week.

The Ronan City Council will next meet Oct. 13, two days after the Columbus Day holiday.