Aberdeen Mayor Erik Larson has delivered his recommended 2017 budget to members of the City Council and it includes money for a city administrator.

This is Larson’s first budget after being elected to office in late 2015. Adding a city administrator to the payroll is a goal he’s discussed previously. “It’s something I think that would be of value to the city,” he said.

The budget is subject to approval of the City Council.

The mayor’s position is part-time, and pays $1,091 a month. Larson is the first mayor in recent years to have other full-time employment. Predecessors have been retired from full-time jobs or otherwise had more time on weekdays than he does to spend at City Hall.

“But, even then there were limits to how you can be effective and be available for meetings and other day-to-day operations,” he said. “If you’re not there, you can miss out on opportunities and the city should be in a position to capitalize on opportunities when they happen.”

Larson said he doesn’t believe it will be a heavy financial burden for the city because having someone overseeing operations full time should make up for the cost.

A total of $180,000 is requested this year to start the process of determining the scope of the position and to recruit someone. The candidate wouldn’t start until well into the second half of 2017, Larson said.

Council President Peter Schave said it might be a recommendation that’s hard to sell to a majority of council members. “They’ll think it’s an item far too expensive for what we can do right now,” Schave said.

Along with concerns about the long-term cost to pay such an employee is that department managers in Aberdeen city government have a great deal of managerial responsibility to compensate for the lack of a city administrator and their pay reflects the extra responsibility, Schave said.

“And deservedly so because they do superb work,” Schave said. “A city administrator wouldn’t fit in the chain of command we have in place now. Everything would have to change.”

One of the council members who sits on the Finance Committee, Kathi Prieto, is willing to consider it.

“It sounds like a good idea but we have to be able to swing it,” she said. “We need to look into the city’s finances to find out if it’s something we can realistically do.”

Also recommended in the budget is that the 3/10-of-a-percent sales tax approved by Grays Harbor County voters will be used in Aberdeen to pay for three additional police officers this coming year, Larson said.

“I am committed to putting more feet on the street to protect the places you live, work and do business,” he wrote to council members in a letter introducing the budget. It didn’t mention the recommendation of hiring a city manager, however.

A total request of $30,000 from city utility departments to conduct a ratepayer’s study and more money for nuisance abatement activities are recommended as well.

Total General Fund revenues for 2017 are estimated to be nearly $13.8 million while expenditures detailed in the spending plan total slightly more than $14 million. The gap of about $220,000 will be closed with reserve funding to balance the budget, Finance Director Mike Folkers said.

Except for this year, various amounts of the reserve have been used to achieve a balanced budget since 2013, when almost $163,000 came from this source. Less than $97,000 was required in 2014.

This is a draft document. Council members are expected to approve a final version of the budget Dec. 9.

The first public hearing about the proposed budget is on Wednesday during the next City Council meeting. The second hearing is slated for Nov. 30. A council budget workshop where there likely will be discussion about hiring a city administrator and other recommendations by Larson to council members hasn’t been scheduled but should occur some time between the two public hearings.

There will be a hard copy of this document available at the Finance Department office at City Hall during weekday business hours.