The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg City Council met on November 3 for a special meeting to review the preliminary budget for 2022.

Before discussing the budget, the council set a public hearing date for the surplus of City Hall, at 147 Main, for November 17. It will be held at the same time as the regular city council meeting at 7 pm at the Lions Club. City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe said the appraisal for the building had not yet been completed. He said that the necessary city property from 147 Main was close to being relocated to the new building, at 106 Main Street.

Hinchliffe presented the council with the results of a recently completed employee time study. He gave a brief history of the study, explaining that historically the City of Waitsburg conducted the study internally. State auditors had requested a new format for the study showing percentages of employee time spent in each department.

To provide the data for the new format, City of Waitsburg employees kept track of the hours they spent in each department (fairgrounds, parks, cemetery, streets, water, sewer, and at City Hall), from March through October.

The study noted that the Public Works II employee resigned in September, which skewed the the public works data, as the remaining employees had to pick up the extra work. It also noted that some duties were not required in 2021 due to pandemic-related closures. A breakdown of the time percentages, with the adjusted time, is temporarily available to view in the packet for the special meeting at http://www.cityofwaitsburg.com.

A time study will not happen in the upcoming year, Hinchliffe said, unless it is requested by the state. He anticipates the next study taking place in 2024.

The council looked at the preliminary budget for the upcoming year. Sales tax is expected to be a larger source of revenue, Hinchliffe said, as a result of incoming businesses and increased online sales from this area. Hinchliffe said that, when ordering online, the city where an item is delivered receives the sales tax benefit, not the city from where it was shipped. If a resident of Waitsburg orders something from a business in Renton, for example, Waitsburg will receive the city portion of the sales tax.

Total Tax revenue, according to the proposed budget, is projected at $409,500.

Hinchliffe broke down each line of the proposed revenues and expenses. At one point, he talked about the Coppei Flood Control District, which is run by Walla Walla County. The district has been inactive for many years, however, two residents of Waitsburg applied earlier this year, were appointed to seats, and have since resigned. Hinchliffe said that they resigned because Walla Walla County was not providing directions on how to operate. The district directors had attempted to officially dissolve the district so money that remained in the dedicated account could be used for current flood prevention and protection measures. Hinchliffe said that there is approximately $16,000 in dedicated district funds that the city cannot access.

The revenue in the projected budget for 2022 is $2,380,541, and expenditures of $2,380,541.

The proposed 2022 Budget is also available to view online, at http://www.cityofwaitsburg.com in the special meeting packet.