Hoquiam City Council members have some “tough choices ahead” as they consider a budget for the 2017-18 biennium, said City Finance Director Corri Schmid at Monday’s council meeting.

“We want to build reserves,” she told the council and more than 30 community members in attendance, adding there is state law that requires city governments to have at least 30 days “bare minimum” in reserves in their budget, preferably 45. A 30-day reserve means there would be enough money to keep the city running for 30 days.

“We’re trying to do the best we can with what we have,” said Schmid.

The council is looking at ways to increase revenue, including renegotiating rental contracts in city-owned buildings and contracts for ambulance services outside the fire department. The passage of last week’s emergency equipment levy helped, said Schmid, but the ambulance fund is still in need of a long-term, self-sustaining funding plan.

“We have eliminated more than $300,000 in expenditures, but still have a $750,000 deficit (in the ambulance fund),” she said. Additional funds from the levy will help but come in slowly over five years and are already earmarked for critical improvements, such as the purchase of a new ambulance and repairing two others. “The cost of a new ambulance varies depending on whether we get a new one custom built or buy a demo model,” said City Administrator Brian Shay. Mayor Jasmine Dickhoff added, “We will bring all options to the council” to determine the best deal for the new ambulance, needed to replace a 16-year old member of the fleet. Contract ambulance services outside the fire department are creating losses, and there’s the financial burden of Medicare and Medicaid ambulance runs, “which don’t even cover the cost of the trip,” according to Shay.

Some of the overall savings in expenditures in last biennium’s budget came by way of employee attrition, meaning when an employee of the city has retired, left of their own accord or died they simply are not replaced. When asked if that was an option in the upcoming biennium when it came to fire and police, Mayor Dickhoff said “We are trying to avoid that at all cost.” She was also asked if there was any serious consideration given to the merging of both Aberdeen and Hoquiam into one city government. Mayor Dickhoff replied the creation of one regional fire district could be an answer to keeping the level of service up while saving costs, and it would be a more simple solution than city consolidation.

Another area of concern is the cemetery fund. “We’ve been able to fund the cemetery with endowment funds, but that will only last about four years, so we need a long-term plan,” said Schmid. Mayor Dickhoff and Shay both spoke about smaller communities where the public forms teams to maintain local cemeteries on a volunteer basis, which would keep the cemetery presentable and save the city a substantial amount of money.

City council members were given a copy of the proposed budget Nov. 10. Levies were adopted at yesterday’s meeting – the already reported 1 percent property tax increase and emergency services levy – and another public hearing will be held Nov. 28, the next council meeting. “And by Dec. 12 we hopefully will pass a budget,” said Schmid.

City council notes

The public comment period for the shorelines permit for Contanda’s Port of Grays Harbor expansion ends Saturday. When asked what the timeline is for a decision on the permit, City Administrator Brian Shay said there “is no timeline.” The city still does not have a consultant under contract to review the permit application, EIS and public comment; Shay said the city is also planning to hire an attorney to review the application, but “nobody is under contract yet.”

Mayor Dickhoff announced a meeting for the North Shore Levee Project Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. at the Log Pavilion in Aberdeen. “I want to see more Hoquiam council members than Aberdeen at this meeting,” she said.

The building across the street from City Hall is no longer city property, said the mayor. The sale to two local entrepreneurs was official Nov. 11, and the purchasers plan to use the building as a craft brewery/restaurant/tasting room.

Friends of Olympic Stadium continues to meet. The group has drafted bylaws and planned to elect officers at a meeting Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. at Hoquiam PD conference room.

Mayor Dickhoff recommended the council adopt a “council conduct policy,” setting guidelines for appropriate behavior and action in a council meeting.