Nicky Boyette – Eureka Springs City Council convened for budget talks 30 minutes before the regular meeting Monday, where alderman Terry McClung led the questioning and finance director Lonnie Clark was the one with answers.
McClung and Clark held a back-and-forth about the Transit Department and whether it would be wise to use funds available to pay down the tram loan even though Transit pays its monthly statement out of proceeds from tram tours. McClung commented the city would save a bit by not paying the 2.93 percent interest for as long.
Then McClung led a methodical inquiry into general fund accounts, and Clark explained where sales tax and other revenues were deposited and which accounts were used to write payroll checks and other regular expenses. Discussion led to Clark’s observation that reserves keep getting smaller because the city has been subsidizing water and sewer payments out of the general fund.
Mayor pro tem David Mitchell, filling in for an absent Mayor Butch Berry, pointed out the city also paid for new water meters, but maybe only 60 percent have been installed and the return on investment is not what was expected. McClung said the city had to replace the faulty meters anyway, but Mitchell remembered council being excited when it decided to purchase the meters because of the forecasted revenue increase.
“We’re trying to pedal quickly to make up revenue, but we’re not getting there quickly enough,” he said. Mitchell confidently added that Berry is almost ready to present council with a revenue increasing plan.
Mitchell also addressed the shaky situation for collecting as much as $130,000 owed to the Eureka Springs Fire Department. He explained ESFD only recently set up a process for pursuing bad debts. As collection data is compiled, it is turned over to a billing agency which in due time turns information over to a collection agency, where so far the process has stalled. He called the situation “grossly unacceptable.” However, the collection process has been thoroughly combed over and weak links have been identified. Mitchell claimed Berry is working to pull the city out of this, possibly by finding a different collection agency.
Council will hold a budget workshop 30 minutes before its second meeting of each month.