THE CITY NEEDS YOUR MONEY

Well, the appraisal for the prison was short of the expected amount.  This will cause the city to start thinking of your money.  Can we raise taxes?  Can we raise water rates?  How can we get more money to spend?

If the city of Walsenburg would spend money on renewing infrastructure, replacing fire hydrants, and paving streets, it wouldn't seem so bad when they ran into financial problems.  Most of the expenditures (in time and money) are on securing sewer, water, and gas for the Northlands.  We can't seem to get lines replaced in the older part of town where most of the water and sewer customers reside.  These customers are also the tax payers who pay for the city ventures.

Another big project is the replacement of most of the city's computers.  This expense will come up soon. We have an IT contractor who is charged with keeping our equipment operating.  Maybe we could put off a purchase until we get our finances in better shape.

We talked of making cuts in the 2014 budget.  A 10% cut was made in city employee salaries.  The police dept was also reduced in number.  An additional member of the police force left, but was replaced quickly. When we are under financial stress and an employee leaves, why replace him right away?

We also have another financial burden in our water park.  It is a money-losing venture.  The city's solution is to lower the entrance fee and do as little advertising as possible.

Whatever is placing our federal government in unbelievable debt seems to be contagious to our cities and some of our states.  It is simple mathematics.  If you don't have money don't purchase anything.

The Capital Improvement Fund

The funds for operating the water and sewer department come from revenue sources such as residential and business charges for water and sewer.  These funds are to maintain our system and deliver the water and sewer service. Other funds that are allocated to renew our existing lines are called capital improvement funds.  Things are less clear when we try to discover their balances and expenditures .

The capital improvement funds are designated by law from sales tax revenue.  At one time funds were generic and used for any improvement in the city.  A ballot issue in 2012 called Ordinance 1015 changed this.  The fund was divided into three parts.  A third was to be for the water department, a third for the sewer department, and a third for general use.  Section 4 of this ordinance mandated  a five year plan for improvements in water and sewer infrastructure.  Each year the city council is required to adopt a five year plan for use of the transferred funds.

No five year plan has been created.  Meanwhile the annual state maximum 10 percent of water and sewer funds has been transferred to the water and sewer departments without a five year plan. While  it is not clear, the money appears to have been used for other than capital improvements. The city council is not enforcing the ordinance to correctly appropriate these transfers.

It is difficult to see this because of our reporting system.  The capital improvement funds and the infrastructure and repair portion of our water and sewer bills should be simple and easy to track. Replacement of water lines, sewer lines, and fire hydrants in the city should be a priority. The funds for these projects should not be used for general or administrative expenses or any other uses.