It isn't prudent to pay all Neosho employees out of one fund, the public golf course uses recycled wastewater, benefits for city employees are being examined and relying on volunteers to support emergency services isn't practical.
Those things, and more, were discussed Tuesday night at a city budget work session that was half government accounting 101 and half public forum (see related story in Wednesday's Daily News).
Neosho finance director Martha Mundt spent some time Tuesday going over the types of city funds and explaining accounting practices. Mundt said some money categories are segregated by law and others out of practicality.
At one point, Mayor Richard Davidson noted that the question has been asked why all city employees can't be paid out of the general fund. Mundt reiterated that many funds must be accounted for separately, and so do the employees paid out of those funds. One example would be the parks department.
Mundt indicated she inherited a city accounting system where a lot of money has already been rolled into the general fund. That has cut down on efficiency, she said. She said segregating funds by department helps show a true reflection of the cost to operate different functions of the city.
“To have everyone paid out of the same place does not show a true reflection of the cost of what certain operations are,” Mundt said.
In response to a separate question from Davidson, Neosho public works director Mike Hightower said that the golf course does not use tap water to water the greens, but relied on treated wastewater which he said was significantly cheaper. According to Hightower, it costs about $1,000 a year to pump recycled wastewater to the golf course versus the estimated $50,000 a year in water rates it would take if the golf course drew its water directly out of the water system. He said that has been the policy for roughly the past 18 years. He also said that any treated wastewater not used on the golf course is pumped into Shoal Creek. An alternative to either taking water out of the system or using recycled wastewater, Hightower said, would be to drill a well at the golf course, but that would mean maintenance costs.
“It's an overall benefit to the city for the golf course to use reclaimed water,” Hightower said.
On the subject of water, councilwoman Heather Bowers later stated that in the past not all water meters have actually been read, being estimated instead, and that some industries have been allowed to operate with broken water meters. In other cases, Bowers alleged, there have been special negotiated rates for industries.
Mundt said that except in certain circumstances, such as extreme cold or snow, all water meters would be read in the city. She also said that all customers would be treated equally.
“We do not make special arrangements for anyone,” Mundt said. “If it was done in the past that may well be, but our policy is to expect payment in a timely manner and no exceptions.”
Interim city manager Harlan Moore said he receives a monthly water meter report and that as soon as he becomes aware of problems, such as an unread or broken meters, he sees that they are solved.
“It's a priority of mine that we get those taken care of,” Moore stated. “Now, we are working with an old infrastructure system and we do have to prioritize. But it's on the top of the list we're working on.”
Bowers also alleged that heavy industries had been given a three year discount on sewer rates.
Hightower replied that when sewer rates were raised last year, industries were permitted to incrementally pay over a period of three years the extra costs of treating their wastewater. Homeowners were never charged more for sewer than businesses, he indicated.
At another point in the meeting, Davidson asked about employment retirement plans, noting that “a significant amount” is paid out each year. He asked how Neosho compared to other cities.
Neosho human resources director Vickie Dexter said the city was “right in the middle,” payment-wise, in its employee retirement plan. She said it could be changed every two years but the last time that happened was 2005. Dexter said the most significant change would be for employees to contribute the maximum four percent out of each paycheck toward their retirement.
The city currently pays into retirement each year 10.2 percent of general employee salaries, according to Dexter.
Mundt noted that the retirement plan for current employees cannot be changed, as it is a defined plan. Any revised policy would apply to future-hires only.
On health benefits, Davidson said he wasn't sure if the city staff was big enough anymore to have a self-insured plan, noting the city has cut about 25 percent of its payroll. He also noted that health costs are going up.
“We do have a rich plan, I'll be the first to admit that,” Dexter said.
Dexter said that an in-house health insurance committee is reviewing the issue. She said higher deductibles and co-pays are being looked at. Dexter said the renewal period for the insurance plan is this February, at which time she said the city may choose to go out for bids. Pre-existing medical conditions of employees would roll over onto any future plan, Dexter said.
Councilman Tom Workman said he has sat in on some of the health insurance committee meetings and particularly noted that what the employee contribution into their own health plan would be for some of the lower-end salaries is being weighed.
Davidson called it a “fine line.”
“You want to have a plan that is fair but you don't want a plan that rewards someone for going to the ER rather their primary care physician,” he said.
Neosho resident Doug Skaggs said in Tuesday's session that Neosho ought to rely more on volunteer firefighters and should resurrect its reserve police force to make up for recent personnel reductions of about half the respective departments. The auxiliary reserve officers could help with traffic control and smaller duties, Skaggs said, as well as assist the fire department as needed.
“But you've got to pursue it, you've got to say we want volunteers and volunteers will come on down to sign up and we'll train them,” Skaggs said.
However, Neosho Fire Chief Mike Eads estimated that departments typically need five volunteers for every one that will actually respond, especially in the middle of the night or in bad weather. He said it costs about $5,000 to train and equip each volunteer.
Meanwhile, Neosho Police Chief Dave McCracken said that today all reserve officers have to be licensed by the state and must attend two days of in-service training. More importantly, in today's world there are too many liability issues blocking the way of having reserve police officers, McCracken said. Also, he said most people these days just want to be a reserve officer long enough to get on full-time somewhere else, leaving the police department with the invested training costs.
Neosho resident David Holley, a former law enforcement officer, agreed with the two chiefs’ assessments. He said the costs alone of getting certified nowadays is enough to discourage people from stepping up.
“People don't volunteer the way they used to,” Holley said. “You can't just go out and find volunteers. You can go beg, borrow and steal but you can't find enough people to help you when it needs to be done. It's nice to talk volunteerism, but it's a whole other ballgame when you actually try to do it.”
