Q: The City Council is currently plagued by infighting and bickering. What kind of impact is this having on the city and what would you do to help matters?
A: The dictionary definition of “bickering” is: “argue about petty and trivial matters”. I find nothing trivial about trying to have thoughtful, fact-based discussions around fiscal responsibility, transparency, and accountability. Idaho statutes charge City Council with setting/overseeing the city budget. To me, that includes department revenues, expenditures, personnel costs, and monitoring and adjusting expenses relative to income on an ongoing basis.
I believe city council has a primary duty to ensure public taxpayer dollars are spent thoughtfully, effectively, and efficiently. I believe there are two halves to the budget equation – the taxpayers and renters who pay the bills and the city staff who provide needed services. Both halves of the equation deserve equal consideration and attention.
Pocatello has no long-range strategic plan, does not follow its own adopted fiscal policies, has no procedures in place to ensure policies are implemented as written, and has no spending plan or priorities to drive the budgeting process. In the face of such administrative inadequacies, it is little wonder there is no logical budget-setting process and disagreements arise. The lack of policy-based procedures and a spending plan based on long-range priorities throws city council into a decision arena where opinion is valued as fact and data is viewed as unnecessary.
The public deserves a city council that talks openly about the fact-based realities of our budget. That is difficult when some council members strive to work from facts and others argue from a primarily emotional point of view regardless of numerical realities. Numbers do not lie. When expenditures exceed income and one-time money set aside for community projects is spent to balance a budget, we are, as our chief financial officer has said repeatedly, in for rough waters. Pocatello does not have a best-practice balanced budget as per the Government Finance Officers Association.
Q: What are your thoughts on the city budget and how would you balance the need for city services with the need for lower taxes?
A: We must reduce organizational costs and continue present services. The short-term approach should be a little from everyone, not cutting/drastically reducing an entire service area. However, to sustain us long-term, we must increase revenues. That means thoughtful, sustainable growth through well-paid jobs that infuse disposable income into our local economy.
The Pocatellans I talk with understand we must pay taxes in order to receive valued services. The vast majority of folks want three things:
1) A clear explanation of where tax dollars go;
2) Clear evidence that city council/mayor understand high property taxes are hitting many very hard;
3) Demonstrated efforts by council/mayor to curtail spending;
3) Evidence city elected officials are actively addressing fiscally responsible spending and economic development to increase revenues.