Council Approves Two-Year Budget, Postpones A Rate Hike For Chamber

Budget includes changes in staffing and fees

Bogosian proposes dinner

By Kara Chalmers

The Saratoga City Council decided on June 21, that it would not allocate $10,000 to the city's Chamber of Commerce ... not yet.

In adopting the city's two-year budget, the council postponed making a decision about increasing the amount of money it pays to the Chamber for visitor and information services. In May, the Chamber asked for an increase in the amount the city gives them yearly from $3,400 to $10,000.

Abby Krimotat, the executive director of Chamber asked the council on May 9, to reinstate a contract with the Chamber that had expired in 1996. One of the provisions of the contract would be the payment increase.

At the May 17 council meeting, the three council members present decided to allocate the $10,000 in the draft budget but to delay a final decision until all council members were present. One suggestion that some council members made at that meeting was that if the city increased funding for the services, the Chamber could play an integral role in the economic revitalization of the city's business districts.

There is an allocation in the budget for fiscal year 2000-2001 of $100,000 for economic development and revitalization, two-thirds of which will fund an economic development coordinator who would work to retain and recruit businesses, according to Interim City Manager Bill Norton. The allocation increases to $103,000 in the following year.

According to Mayor Stan Bogosian, negotiations with the Chamber of Commerce over a contract are ongoing and have so far been unsuccessful.

On June 21, Bogosian suggested that the city only allocate the $3,400 it pays to the Chamber in the budget, and increase it to $10,000 if and when the two parties reach an agreement. Other council members agreed.

But councilman Nick Streit suggested leaving the $10,000 budgeted for now, to avoid a future budget amendment and take money from contingency fees later.

Waltonsmith said that in order for the city to give more money to the Chamber, it should understand exactly how the money would be spent. She said it might not be a good idea for the city to budget the $10,000, since it might create an expectation by the Chamber that it would definitely receive the requested funding.

The council made some final changes to the budget on June 21. Bogosian asked that $5,000 be allocated for the 2000-2001 fiscal year for a recognition dinner in the fall to honor the city's commissioners for their time and efforts. The dinner would also include department heads and city staff liaisons to the commissions.

The final, adopted budget reflects several staffing changes in the city. The city will hire a new park maintenance worker and a new street maintenance worker, and will abolish the position of lead worker, since there is no need for the position.

Also, three temporary positions--the recreation program coordinator, the MIS assistant and the public safety officer--will become "limited term" rather than temporary positions. The change means that the staff members will now receive benefits, but the city council will have to renew the positions each year on an as-needed basis.

Administrative Services Director Mary Jo Walker, who has spearheaded the budget process and presented drafts of the budget to the council, announced at the June 21 meeting that the city will lose one member of its staff. The community development department's associate planner, who is on maternity leave, notified the city that she would not return to work. The planner, Heather Bradley, worked on a three-quarters schedule and Walker suggested making her position full time when hiring someone to replace her. It will cost the city an additional $6,665 to fund the new position.

Other changes reflected in the budget had to do with fee changes in the city. Four city fees were increased while four were decreased. The park development fee increased by over $10,000, a new fee of $500 was instated for accessory structures and the deposit for geotechnical review was increased by $1,000. Building permits, water heater replacement, heating and air permit and electrical permit fees were all decreased by a small amount.

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