City ends 2014-15 fiscal year in the black…
and then some

By The Pioneer 9 years ago

City staff and council members had good reason to think Christmas came a bit early this year after the city’s auditors issued a clean audit report for Fiscal Year 2014-15 that included a surplus of $389,895 in the General Fund.
This was welcome news coming on the heels of a five year recession that saw the city’s budget belt cinch tighter and tighter around the city’s already austere spending.
For guidance in spending the found money, City Manager Gary Napper went to the various departments for suggestions.  The final wish list included projects ranging from building a new city website (cost unknown) to a comprehensive updating of the city’s general plan, estimated at $400,000.
Napper and the council went through the list one by one, eliminating some projects outright to create a short list of projects requiring cost analysis and more information in order to prioritize. Projects making the short list include:
•    New F-450 utility truck
•    Park improvements including new trash cans, replacing the resilient surface in the play area and trimming the trees in the Community Park and paint and re-seal the public restrooms.
•    Paint the exterior of Endeavor Hall
•    Repaint the interior of the city library
•    Replace the city-owned wood street light poles with metal ones
•    Install solar power equipment to run the Clayton Fountain
•    Funding for a training day for the entire police department
•    A new interactive city ­website
•    Replacing the antiquated paper records management system with an electronic system
•    Creating a searchable online City Municipal Code

City staff will further refine the list and report back to the council at a future meeting.

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