After further review by the Hoquiam City Council, members voted Monday to cut a proposed utility fee increase from $8.39 per month to $4.09 and to focus on saving money by re-evaluating fire and emergency medical service contracts outside the district.
After tabling budget discussions at the Nov. 28 council meeting, primarily because of concerns about the proposed utility service fee hike, which would have almost doubled rates for properties across the board, the Council’s Regulatory Committee drafted three reports in response, all of which were approved by the council Monday.
First, the committee recommended city staff review a current fire district contract to renegotiate rates for out-of-district services. According to City Administrator Brian Shay, “We’re losing money on each call,” meaning the cost of the services to the fire district is greater than the fees collected for those services. Shay said the council will evaluate what the city is charging for these services and see if it is cost-effective to continue to provide them.
The second related report directly called for the reduction in the increase to the utility service fee from the proposed $8.39 to $4.09. To offset that loss in revenue, the council will look into the contracts mentioned above, and, in the third committee report, city staff will “put together alternative working models for the operations of fire and ambulance” in Hoquiam. Shay says this will including looking at staffing models and other cost-saving alternatives to the current way fire and ambulance services are operated. He hopes to have a report on alternatives for council members by the Jan. 16 meeting.
Mayor Jasmine Dickhoff has in previous meetings voiced support for consolidating fire and EMS services and creating a district-wide department rather than the current city-by-city model as a way to maintain the current level of service while saving on the cost of that service.
The council then unanimously approved the 2017-18 budget. Shay points out that the drop in the utility fee increase is creating a $300,000 hole in the budget and some very tough decisions remain to make up for that gap. Councilman Ben Winkelman made a motion that $4,000 be allocated to support the efforts of Greater Grays Harbor Inc. Funding for the non-profit economic development organization was cut in the 2015-16 budget, but the council agreed the services provided by Greater Grays Harbor were critical and approved the money from the general fund for the upcoming biennium.
Flood relief plan
The TimberWorks flood relief master plan was approved by the Hoquiam City Council Monday evening. The comprehensive plan targets a number of specific locations in the area that are in need of improvements to combat frequent flooding, and offers solutions for each project.
The overall plan includes projects in Aberdeen and Hoquiam and the Aberdeen council is expected to consider the master plan Wednesday night. When asked about funding sources for the projects themselves, Shay said it was up to each city to secure funding, some through state and federal grants, and said it is likely some funding would have to come from the city itself. That money could come in the form of future levies, but, as Shay pointed out that for some, a property tax levy could be offset by what homeowners are now paying for federal flood insurance.
One of the main goals of the plan is to get large sections of Aberdeen and Hoquiam off the FEMA mandatory flood insurance map. Funding has already been secured for improvements to one major problem area, Fry Creek, reported Shay.
Simpson Avenue improvements
The Washington State Transportation Board recently approved the city’s grant proposal for $460,000 to improve Simpson Avenue. New sidewalks will be constructed on both sides of the street, where needed, between the bridge and Myrtle Street, said Shay, and drainage issues will be addressed in the project. When asked how this project, the TimberWorks plan and North Shore Levee would work together, Shay said he was meeting later in the week to coordinate with another project on Simpson Avenue – Department of Transportation work between Emerson and G Streets – to see if the projects can be done at the same time. Also, matching funds required in the grants could potentially be absorbed by the different funding sources, saving the City’s overall cost on both projects.
