City Commission questions so many checking accounts
City of Marion library, museum, and cemetery board checking accounts may be closed, with some city officials complaining that the organizations do not provide an adequate accounting to the commission.
Most of the discussion centered on the library board, which has overseen significant fund-raising drives to renovate the former Santa Fe depot into a much larger library.
No vote was taken, and commissioners didn't offer evidence that funds were being used inappropriately.
Mayor Eloise Mueller suggested income to the organizations could be earmarked for them, with all checks run through the city's regular checking account. Commissioners review and approve those checks at each meeting.
Currently the boards review and approve payments through their individual checking accounts but do not send vouchers to the commission. Library and cemetery accounts are reviewed annually by city auditors and included in the audit report. The most recent audit report shows the cemetery board with about $10,900 and the library board with $33,670.
Mueller also asked about the housing authority account. Administrator Dennis Nichols said the federal aspect of the board gives it more autonomy, but the other boards function as a creation of the city.
Mueller said the library and other boards do not provide the commission with regular financial reports.
"Do we not have any control over that board?" she asked.
Administrator Dennis Nichols suggested the city monitor the checking accounts for a year before making a decision. The commission certainly has the right to insist on financial statements from the boards, at least quarterly, he said. The city already handles payroll and certain other expenses for the boards.
"There have been absolutely no problems with the accounts," he said. Some of the funds are budgeted already; the library was building up its fund in anticipation of the move, for example.
Commissioner Larry McLain agreed that a review of financial statements would be worthwhile.
'Wrong message'
Commissioner Jim Crofoot said actions that implied the commission did not trust the boards was the wrong step. The boards oversee the money carefully since they are the ones making the decisions, he said.
Regarding the library board in particular, Crofoot said "they've done a job so far above what we thought they would do, we don't want to kick them in the shins."
The board raised more than $152,000 in grants and private donations to match a $600,000 grant. None of the $152,000 came from city taxes.
Nichols said the city was a strong supporter of the depot project and the boards, and "hoped this wasn't taken the wrong way."
"I'm not questioning the boards' honesty, I just wonder why we need so many checking accounts — and paying outside sources for maintaining them. The city could maintain the accounts and write the checks at less cost," Mueller said. "There's no need for so many accounts. It would be less costly to maintain one account and each board would operate within a budget which is audited."
Objectives
Commissioners approved the objectives that were discussed at the June 24 meeting. They are:
— Foster an environment where existing businesses grow and new businesses are recruited.
— Upgrade water plant to meet new standards by Dec. 1, 2003.
— Complete the 12.5 electric loop around Marion by the end of 2007.
— Resurface Eisenhower by the end of 2005.
— Complete a study of alternatives to city-operated trash collection by the end of this year.
McLain suggested the 12.5 line, which will carry 7200 volts instead of 2400, might save enough money for the city to afford a contractor. Sanders said the work, while slated to not be complete until 2007, is more cost-effective if handled by city crews.
"If we spread it over seven years, we can pick it up in the budget," he said.
McLain, a longtime volunteer at the baseball complex, said the recreation commission budget request was excessive.
"All of these could drop to the bottom (of the priority list)," he said.
McLain felt the complex was in outstanding shape and that the city should maintain it. However, additional equipment needs should be funded through fees, donations, and labor of the teams, coaches, and families.
"We all want the programs but where is the investment on their side?" he asked. "If the fences need repair, why are they getting torn up in the first place?"
Jim Crofoot said the program sought to raise money on its own, but it needed budget authority to spend that income.
"The days of volunteerism are a lot leaner now," he said. For example, umpires from out of town have to be paid because crowds are too rough on the volunteers who used to provide umpiring services.
"If I had a young person, I don't know if I would encourage them to get involved," McLain agreed.
In the end, they decided to decrease the budget request from recreation by $6,000, to $19,000, about $500 more than this year.
Capital improvements
In a related matter, commissioners approved a list of capital improvements. About $62,000 in capital funds are expected to be available. More money will mean more work completed. Fewer dollars means fewer projects will be funded.
The list is:
— Continue funding 12.5 electrical loop.
— Install sewer and water in Fink Addition, across from Marion Elementary School.
— Update lagoon aeration system as needed.
— Add a used car to the police fleet if a grant is received for a fifth officer.
— Relocate city offices to the old library.
— Replace fire department bunker gear if available.
Commissioners asked about hydrant replacement. Fredrickson said 10 hydrants are budgeted for replacement or installation this year. These are hydrants that don't work or for locations where there aren't any. If those are completed "we'll be in pretty good shape," he said. However, the city will end up with poor hydrants if they aren't checked and maintained regularly.
McLain and Mueller said the main complaint they hear is on city-owned vehicles. They wondered if there could be fewer vehicles, rotated among crews.
"The only time people want to see police is when they need help," said Sanders, a former policeman.
The department has to be able to respond to emergencies, he said. It is dangerous enough for officers to respond to emergency calls without a car with all the gear they may need, he explained.
Other city vehicles are used to improve efficiency. It's better to have a truck equipped for water system maintenance and emergencies than spend time each day loading and unloading, tools, officials said.
Similarly, complaints occasionally arise about "three-man crews for two-man jobs." Nichols said city crews receive a daily work schedule. Not all are two- or three-man jobs, but it is more efficient to have a team stop for a one-person job than have individuals going back and forth between the shop or larger jobs.
Also, safety is an issue. Regulations require an observer on potentially dangerous projects such as electrical or underground sewer work. The observer has to be aware and available to offer assistance if someone is hurt, Nichols explained
