POULSBO — City Council members approved spending requests for 2016 from a number of city departments Nov. 18.
In order to meet those requests, the city will have to use $374,246 from its reserve accounts. The finance department was slated to get the largest increase, including $116,578 to hire a budget analyst.
Councilmember Ed Stern, who is on the finance and administration committee, said the council has been trying to get the finance department help for about three years.
“They’ve been operating with a lot of goodwill, overtime and dedication. And we recognize that,” Stern said.
Mayor Becky Erickson said the city is still down about five full-time employees from 2010 levels. She said she promised the finance department they would get the next new hire.
“We’re really short on what I call the ‘Third Floor,’ which is finance, clerks and my office and HR,” Erickson said, noting that other departments have added employees.
In other departments, the off-duty police officer hourly pay rate will increase from $55 to $57 per hour with a minimum of three hours worked. The sergeant rate increased from $62 to $66 per hour for three hours when an officer is acting as a sergeant. If a call requires four officers, one of them will be paid at the sergeant’s rate.
The police department will get $50,000 to upgrade computer units in patrol cars. Their current MCTs (mobile computer terminals) are outdated and will soon be incompatible with CenCom, the emergency dispatch center in Kitsap County.
“We don’t have a choice but to approve it,” Finance Director Debbie Booher said.
Other items approved Nov. 18 include:
— $80,000 for an upgrade to the traffic signal at the intersection of Bond Road, Lindvig Way and Front Street.
— $30,000 for a feasibility study for a YMCA Poulsbo. The study won’t be done until after the sales of the old city hall and police station.
— $90,000 to demolish two city-owned buildings: a house behind Centennial Park and another house on 8th Avenue. The houses are being removed so the city can restore a flood-prone portion of Dogfish Creek.
— $100,000 to purchase a community development software in the engineering department.
— $25,000 for the Kitsap Conservation District LID Program, which aims to teach residents how to do stormwater control on their own property. The funds will be added to a $50,000 grant received by the Conservation District for a total program funding of $75,000.
In summary, Booher said the city budget is in good shape, as evidenced by the council’s decision to lower the utility tax rate from 12 to 9 percent. Booher said consumers won’t see their utility rates come down, but the city will take into account the reduced utility tax rate when setting user rates.
“I feel good. It’s been a pretty calm process this year,” Booher said. “It’s nice to move forward with the budget when we’re actually able to increase our revenue projections.”
Total 2016 proposed expenditures are at about $34.7 million, with $11.1 million going toward the general fund, $3 million for capital projects and $17.2 million for the enterprise fund.
The council is expected to give final approval to the 2016 budget at its Dec. 16 meeting.
