Ritzville Council approves final changes to 2017 budget

During their regular meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 20, the Ritzville City Council adopted the 2017 budget totaling $8,347,173.

Clerk/Treasurer Kris Robbins said due to financial hardships, the city decided to not budget for any extraordinary or extra expenses for 2017.

Extraordinary expenses include any item, which represents a gain or loss to a company’s income statement and proves to be an infrequent and unnecessary expense. These items can also be a one-time purchase the city feels are not necessary to be allocated for in the budget.

Robbins said she understands the cut to extraordinary expenses may seem drastic, but she advised department heads to remain updated in the amount of revenue the city receives before requesting funds for these items. She said the city decided to make this cut in all departments and the decision will not affect residents in any way.

Changes to the budget that would exceed the amount allocated for 2017 should be requested to be reviewed by the council for approval of an amendment to the budget within the year, she explained. This will allow the council to review revenue sources to ensure the funds for the request prior to approval, stated Robbins.

Robbins said as revenue sources continue to be limited and regular costs increase, the council decided to decrease the amount allocated for expenditures in previous years. A cost of living for payroll of one percent has been allocated in the budget and medical insurance rates were increased by six percent.

Due to these increasing costs, each department received limitations on most expenditures within their overall budget, she explained.

The changes to the budget this year are minor, including increased charges for utilities, the establishment of a business license fee and an increased fee in licensing for unaltered animals.

In order to keep records of incoming businesses, the city has established a business license fee of $30 for existing businesses and an increase from $25 to $100 for solicitors.

Robbins ensured the purpose of this fee is not used for a source of revenue, but for the health and safety of residents, and accurate records of the services offered within the city.

She said the city decided to make the change after they realized some businesses were not complying with the business registration requirement they currently have established and are free of charge at this time.

Ritzville is one of the few cities in Washington who does not require a business license fee, Robbins added.

In an attempt to encourage residents to spay and neuter their animals, the city decided to increase the licensing fee by $10. The new cost of licensing an unaltered animal is $30.

As discussed in previous years, the city has established a three percent rate increase for sewer and garbage in order to keep up with contracts and expenses. Robbins said sewer rates will be increased by $1.75 monthly and garbage will be an increase of $0.65.

The total monthly utility bill increase for a based rate normal single-family residence is approximately $11.11, Robbins stated.

Due to the fact the city is now making payments on the loans for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund projects, the finance committee suggested increasing the costs for the regular maintenance and operation of the water system by raising overage rates.

In previous years, the water rates were separated into two categories of low and high users she explained, with those using 300-799 cubic feet of water were paying $53.30 per month and those using 0-299 cubic feet paid $45.60.

Robbins said after some research, the finance committee discovered a majority of residents were using between 200-599 cubic feet of water per month, with less than 100 residences falling below 200 cubic feet.

This statistic allowed the committee to agree to alter the structure of the rates by establishing one set rate of $53.30 for 0-599 cubic feet of water per month with a charge of $1.50 for every additional 100 cubic feet of water used.

This change will allow the city to fund the $2000,000 annual loan payments, Robbins explained.

Along with service fees, the city also established a utility deposit of $300 to ensure the city receives payment at the time of closing out an account.

Due to previous problems with not receiving payments for delinquent accounts, the city decided to establish the fee to also discourage delinquent tenants from transferring utility bills into a different name.

The following are the departments which received the largest amount of funds.

The city has budgeted $1,128,268 for the 2017 Current Expense Fund and $295,250 for the Street Fund. As for the Hotel Motel Tax Fund, $125,000 has been allocated for it and $139,600 for the Cumulative Reserve Fund.

The Utility Tax Fund has $277,773 in it and $1,552,000 has been budgeted for the Utility Reserve Fund. The Water Department will receive $2,023,500 in funds and $350,000 for the Water Revenue Debt Reserve.

The Public Works Transportation Fund Construction Loan Fund has been budgeted for $170,800.

The Sanitation fund has been budgeted for $437,932. The Sewer Department Fund has been budgeted for $791,700.

Additional departments and funding amounts are Department of Ecology Debt Service Fund at $238,000 and $541,000 has been allocated for the Emergency Response and Removal Reserve Fund.