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MONTE VISTA— The Monte Vista City Council held a work session last Tuesday, Nov. 13 to review the proposed 2019 budget for the city and explore means to reduce the $36,197 deficit from the general fund discussed at the Nov. 1 council meeting.

City Manager Forrest Neuerburg presented suggested cuts and modifications for council to review and they discussed the impact of these changes with the city’s department heads. Neuerburg also discussed the dire need for increasing city employees’ pay to remain competitive with other local public sector positions and to be fair to staff, and council discussed financial issues for the city on the horizon in 2020 and later years.

Neuerburg presented a memo to council with cuts that totaled $37,250 which eliminates the deficit and leaves the general fund with $1,053 in additional funds. The first change was to eliminate the Orkin contract under public works’ building budget and assign those duties to the maintenance tech who works for the city, reducing $8,000 from the budget. Public Works Director Rob Vance explained this was fairly easily absorbed into that position and the buildings were primarily City Hall and the Monte Vista Kids Connection (MVKC). MVKC Director Anika Velasquez explained preventative spraying is mandatory per the health department but as long as the tech can show documentation of that being completed regularly, they would be in compliance.

The second cut was under public works, street lighting (utilities) for $10,000. Neuerburg explained the recent LED light installation has significantly reduced the costs of street lights and the budget was based on a historical amount prior to the LED savings.
Under the Vali 3 Theater fund, Neuerburg explained the line item would be new in order to keep the theater’s utilities separate. The city has typically paid a utility bill for all of their properties although they have a decent idea of the amount the theater costs alone. The theater’s utility costs were budgeted for $14,000, which the proposed cuts reduced to $7,000.

Finance Director Jennifer Signs, who was present by phone, explained for 2018 the projected total utility costs for the theater are $8,350 and under this plan the city would pay for the first $7,000 and the theater board would be responsible for the rest. Council inquired about some of the theater’s finances and their plan to apply for a separate non-profit status and Neuerburg explained if the theater is absolutely unable to cover the remainder of the utility costs they could return to council and request more in 2019.

Under the information technology (IT) department, Neuerburg presented a proposed cut of $5,000 for upgrades to the server room, which he stated he and IT Director Jim Belknap believed could be postponed for one more year but would have to be addressed then because of the high costs and possibly questionable reliability of cloud storage for the city’s needs.

Under community development, Neuerburg proposed a cut of $3,250 which had been allotted for mapping, explaining the city’s “zoning maps are horrendous.” He has a plan to work on layering the GIS maps for the water and sewer and improved zoning maps at a later date to make the information more accessible. He noted the way city staff have been using Google Earth Pro and the current maps will work for the time being, although once the GIS maps of the water and sewer system are completed he would like to “get them out of the 19th century.”

The MVPD was cut by $2,000 for part of a shredding contract to address the backlog of shredding as well as under the administration, finance and clerk’s departments. Councilors and community members who were observing the work session volunteered to come in and shred documents not considered sensitive or protected information, and Rob Vance stated he also assigns some of his staff who are on light-duty to shred some of the backlog.

The recreation department was cut by $2,000 for referee contracts, with Neuerburg and Recreation Director Jaime Hurtado explaining they will be hiring one full-time coordinator instead of the two part-time positions and they can adjust schedules for the coordinator to take on some of the officiating duties. Council discussed the recreation department at length and expressed frustration with the lack of volunteer efforts by parents to take on some of these duties. Hurtado explained it is already difficult to get enough coaches to cover all the teams needed to divide the participants up evenly, ensuring they get equal playing time. Each game requires two coaches, a scorekeeper and two officials.

The issue of increased costs is being seen throughout the region. Hurtado explained he has been working to find ways to save Monte Vista money, like the recent transition to uniforms kept by the city instead of t-shirts for every sport (with the exception of the five years old and under students, who still get a t-shirt to keep). Other unexpected costs and regulations, like the mandate to get football helmets inspected every season at a cost of approximately $70 to $80 per helmet (roughly 60 helmets), have also been difficult to budget for.

Hurtado explained his mission is still to keep recreation as affordable as possible for the families in Monte Vista, with the cost per student at about $55-$65 per sport in Monte Vista. Hurtado stated only the Town of Center charges less than Monte Vista. Velasquez added even with these low costs, only about five percent of the largely low-income students MVKC serves can afford to participate in sports. Councilor Gary Johnson added in his work at the school district and out in the community he sees the positive impact that participating in sports has on the students, helping them make it a priority to focus on and work for. Hurtado answered he is looking for other ways of keeping students active and moving in the summertime as well.

Mayor Dale Becker asked if there were grants the department could apply for, which Hurtado stated was difficult because it was a department of the city and most of the grants focus on non-profits. Velasquez confirmed she also sometimes has difficulty with toeing the line of being under a municipality with applying for grants as well and both explained they have found many grants that are specific but disqualify their departments based on other services they provide. Hurtado explained he had looked into a soft drink company which provides grants for youth programs but they no longer provide funding for things like scoreboards that encourage healthy activities.  

Councilor Kathy Lorenz pointed out over $40,000 of the recreation department’s funds are coming from the Conservation Trust Fund (CTF) and that amount is not guaranteed for 2020 or years beyond. Lorenz asked if there is a model for the recreation department to leave the umbrella of the city and be its own department, with Neuerburg explaining it could be its own non-profit or it could become a recreation district, but that would require a tax increase and the approval of voters by a ballot initiative, which Councilor Kathleen Ellithorpe pointed out was an expensive option as well.

Council discussed various ways to raise funds for the department, either as a whole or with individual scholarships for students or teams. Johnson stated when raising money for the ice rink he found local businesses to be very generous but noted the scholarship option was likely the more successful option. Having businesses sponsor teams is also an option, as Signs pointed out is common in Conejos County. Ellithorpe also suggested creating competitions between the local potato warehouses to see which one could raise more donations for the department.

Council discussed the need for community unification in order to improve conditions and a general attitude of willingness to see conditions improve from the citizens, also disparaging social media as a source of unnecessary negativity and conflicts. Ellithorpe stated she tries to avoid using Facebook much because “all it takes is one snarky comment and everyone wants to jump on…” and turn a post negative. She stated she sees a lot of people who find it easier to be a victim on social media than to turn the finger back on themselves and see what they can do to better their communities. Johnson stated he has been using local Facebook groups to hear what citizens are concerned about and realize a vision he has had for some time, getting volunteers for citizen solution committees.

Neuerburg explained beginning in early 2019 he will be holding work sessions with council to discuss the “Plan A Budget” and the “Plan B Budget” for 2020 to prepare council for the difficult financial changes, emphasizing the fixes in the 2019 budget were only temporary repairs. Neuerburg also explained he has been working with Bob Gjellum of Wall, Smith, Bateman and Associates to complete a study about the city’s employees and analyze how they are paid compared to other municipalities/comparable entities in the Valley to determine how the city can stay competitive and retain staff. Neuerburg stated the results so far have upset him as a manager because he realized how dedicated the employees are but they aren’t paid to reflect that.

Neuerburg noted a staff member for Public Works starts at $12 per hour and a police officer starts at about $15 per hour. The city’s benefits are comparable to the City of Alamosa but the wages aren’t growing at a rate that shows the impact inflation is having on them, although inflation is accounted for in other aspects of the city budget. Ellithorpe asked how the different tax bases of the municipalities factor into the comparison, with Neuerburg explaining the market is more or less the same because the market is the San Luis Valley region and they have to pay comparable prices with their paychecks. “Our employees aren’t perfect but they work hard and get their jobs done…when stuff hits the fan they are exceptional and we don’t pay them to be exceptional.” Neuerburg stated although the study is not complete, the city is likely looking at roughly having to add $100,000 more to staff salaries to stay competitive with other municipalities and fair to the employees themselves.

Neuerburg expressed frustration with the complaints on social media for tax liens being placed on properties not paying water bills as if the matter was something new. “That code is 10 years old as far as I know,” he stated, explaining it has been enforced over at least the last five years and the properties in question have to be at least three months behind on their bills, and they have received the commodity for those three months. Neuerburg stated he signed 145 letters worth a total value of about $40,000 in revenue.

Neuerburg also stated the costs for the water and sewer services would likely have to increase in coming years due to unfunded mandates from the EPA and higher costs to provide those services. “Getting an employee up at two in the morning …or to go work on thawing pipes on a holiday weekend…that costs money.” Neuerburg used the example to point out employees have been undervalued for the sacrifices they are willing to make and what they give to the community, when he has to pick up trash from the curb by the park three or four days a week, noting this is reflective of an attitude citizens have about what the city provides. “People need to understand that to survive as a community, we need to be a community.”

Rob Vance also echoed frustration with the pay scale, stating there have not been significant raises for six years for staff, other than the $.50 hourly raises his staff get for gaining additional certifications. The city used to provide the full retirement contribution, “which went away three years ago,” and insurance premiums are increasing by about 15-20 percent per year, although Vance acknowledged Neuerburg does whatever possible to ensure the costs don’t get passed on to the employees. “These cuts are painful, but they’re not nearly as painful as what’s coming down the pipe.”

“None of us came to Monte Vista to get rich,” Vance stated, adding he and his department staff enjoy serving the public but they are seeing a time coming where the services provided by the public works department will have to be more limited or scaled down without significant increases in revenue.

Becker pointed out he believes council should be meticulous in their analysis of the budget and in noting the impact the cuts are having on staff. City staff have expressed frustration with Ron Douglas’ contract renewal, with Velasquez pointing out Douglas makes roughly three times as much per month as her although she has worked for the city for several years. Velasquez and Vance both pointed out the way Douglas treated council at the Nov. 1 meeting was not a standard which would be acceptable for them as employees and asked council to hold Douglas as accountable for the money being spent on him as they are for their budgets. Vance pointed out he requires tangible results from his employees and he provides tangible results to council, Douglas should have to provide tangible results to council because he works for council.

Johnson stated the perception of council and staff about the budget was based on the idea of a “flat revenue stream” but council’s vote to retain Douglas was for economic development and thus for increasing revenue. “Ron Douglas is not the issue. The issue is, does this town want to be saved? Does this town want to grow?” Johnson explained there are plans to keep the city growing through commercial parks, more businesses and bringing more families to the city and more housing developments.

Becker stated he is also in favor of economic development, with Johnson quipping “No you don’t, you voted against it” referring to Becker’s no vote to retain Douglas, leading to a heated exchange between the two. Becker defended the staff’s concerns that money was being spent on Douglas without enough accountability. Becker also pointed out Johnson had to be realistic about bringing in more people putting a greater strain on the infrastructure instead of making lofty speeches. Johnson expressed frustration that council’s decision was not being supported enough and respected by his fellow councilors. “I don’t want the dissention to be about an individual, I just want the results... the issue is somehow we need to come up with more revenue… I know what it takes to create a return, that’s investment and this is an investment in the town.”

Neuerburg returned to the dire situation of needing $100,000 more for employees, including an increase of about $6,000 per year for each starting officer of the MVPD. “As a manager, I respect we need to grow the economy. On the other hand, how long are we going to ignore the needs of our employees?”

Neuerburg explained even with a sharp increase in economic development it is not likely to be enough in sales tax generation to make up for the wage competitiveness gap and inflation in costs of services provided, especially with roughly half of the city’s sales tax revenue committed to bond payments until 2028.

Neuerburg explained the solution is a ballot initiative for a sales tax increase. Volunteers would be needed to explain to voters that employees are not being paid what they deserve and cutting services is on the horizon. Neuerburg explained the proposed increase would likely be 1.25 cents needed to fund wages, operations and facilities for the city “…pretty much holding the line.” “If you ask me what the solution is, that’s it, and paying our employees should be a priority.”

Ellithorpe repeatedly emphasized she hopes staff does not take her vote to renew Douglas’ contract as an affront to them and stated others in attendance shouldn’t let their emotions take over and expressed her support for whatever gets them paid fairly. Ellithorpe suggested council “really hold his [Douglas’] feet to the fire” and ensure they are getting results, which the rest of council agreed with, “He needs to be as accountable as anyone else on this council.”

Lorenz expressed frustration at council’s resolve, asking why then nobody asked Douglas how he got the $58,000 revenue amount on his report and why nobody said anything to Douglas when he raised his voice at her and expressed hostility at being asked for a spreadsheet. Other councilors agreed they should have stated something about Douglas’ actions in Lorenz’s defense, with council and Neuerburg agreeing to hold an executive session to modify his contract to add more accountability measures and request the recruitment of more specific business types to maximize sales tax revenue.

Mayor Pro-Tem Victor Sigala pointed out council needs to better work as a team and support one another. Becker and Johnson apologized for their heated exchange, with Becker noting they can be in support of different views on economic development but they have to remember to be unified and get the support of the community.

Lorenz added she hopes council looks at their own budget and makes cuts from their discretionary funds to show their support for the staff who has made significant cuts. Councilors discussed cutting some of the dues paid to organizations like the Council of Governments and cutting the travel expenses for councilors to attend the Colorado Municipal League conference. Council also discussed cutting their miscellaneous donations budget in half and only covering the donation to the Tri-County Seniors bus insurance for 2019 but giving them notice that by 2020 the donation will no longer be provided.