Council talks budget wishes and woes

Budget talks have officially begun and Moorcroft department heads have made their wish lists known. At the same time, the governing body must also look at the price raise of electricity feeding town owned properties.

Mayor Ben Glenn later said of the council's budget focus with this growing concern, "We're trying to tighten up a little bit as we move forward. There are some large electrical costs we did not fully anticipate."

Glenn went on, "Of course, with all of America, everything is going up and when you have the electrical use the town has, it goes up exponentially for as many buildings and pumps as the town runs...that kind of caught us off track. In that one category, we're around $8000 more than last year and that's just one property. That's the thing we're trying to combat and move forward...That's why we're trying to be proactive in getting a budget that's realistic. It is a pinch."

Another worry is the sewer investment fee that was not raised when the water investment fee was and that account has slowly built a deficit of approximately $8100 thus far and that shortfall continues to grow.

Clerk/Treasurer Cheryl Schneider explained the situation: "We put in that 2% increase several years ago for base and water investment and sewer base, but not sewer investment. The reason for that was that we had a $4.50 increase all at once; I remember Mayor [Dick] Clarr saying we just took a big hit for that, let's not put that 2%...It may be easier to pass a 2% increase every year than go in and have a consistent shortfall."

These enterprise accounts are obligated for loans the town uses to rebuild infrastructure.

The governing body is seeking cuts where departments are able to ensure revenue to handle the deficit. However, the department heads have expressed their wishes as well for this coming fiscal year.

Schneider advised the body that she is able to cut in the travel/training for her office, stating, "There were three clerks who were actively attending Casell, but I think that $18,000 has some wiggle room."

With the departure of Jodi Clark as Moorcroft's deputy clerk, though, Schneider has been assisted by police clerk Jesse Connally and part time office help Peggy Frazer to ensure the same quality of work with which residents are familiar. This position, though, will be filled before the new budget begins.

According to Mayor Ben Glenn, "We still have it budgeted for three clerks, so we'll have the same expenditure there."

Speaking on developments Monday, the town clerk said, "It's been pretty busy, yep, pretty busy. We advertise this week."

Schneider commended Connally's covering the deputy position as well as her own clerical responsibilities and Frazer's continued part time support. She hopes to see things "getting back to normal again" soon.

Public Works Director Cory Allison did not spend the allocated funds for playground equipment to be installed at the Texas Trail Park last year.

"We budgeted $10,000 and everything we found that would be decent for Texas Trails is between $15,000 and $20,000," he said.

He has requested carrying the line item over and doubling the $10,000 to cover the playground equipment.

Glenn later advocated this request: "We did leave the playground equipment in the budget, I believe there are things we have to spend money on and I think giving the kids a place to play and having a safe park is a place where we do have to spend a little money."

The director also asked for a new vehicle: "We've had it on a back burner, [but] we've got some old wore out trucks."

Allison did not find a plow appropriate to the needs and budget of the town in the 2023/2024 fiscal year, a search for which he had council approval. "I'd like to roll that over," he said, keeping that capital expenditure line item available in the 2024/2025 budget.

Ambulance overseers Brad and Lexi McKee of K.A.R.E. EMS Solutions shared their first complete budget year findings regarding the needs of the department.

"I think we can cut in some places and add in some other places," Brad reported. Lexi agreed, "Some of the places we can cut are pretty significantly over so we can decrease a pretty good amount."

The fire department, represented by Dan Blakeman, is currently standing in situ on their budget. The schooling for the first responders is currently paid by the volunteer and recouped by grant funding; however, the mayor suggested a reevaluation of this line item and further advice from Blakeman as to increasing the current amount.

The grant writing assistance requested by this department has been submitted and they anticipate a response around September.

Schneider suggested to the body creating a line item specifically for matching funds at the first of the fiscal year henceforth, ensuring the availability of said money at the time of the application, and the idea was wholly accepted.

Police Chief Bill Bryant, too, expressed a desire to hire a fourth officer to fill out the department and save the current personnel from the seemingly inevitable burnout that assails the perpetually understaffed municipal force.

"I do believe it would be a benefit to the town," the mayor said. "I believe it helps with the burnout rate of our policemen, it might help with the turnover rate and I really think that it would help in the overtime and on-call aspect. It's not a wash and it's not a savings, but if we can maintain our officers for longer than a one- or two-year period, you can start looking at the actual cost the town to retrain a new officer." He spoke of the need of more discussion before a decision is made.

As of this report, the final budget meeting had not been held.