Caldwell Mayor's Budget Expenses $198,000.00

THE GUARDIAN made it his business to sit in on a budget meeting as the numbers were getting crunched with various departments this year. Main motivation was the 54% increase in assessed valuation on the place I call home.

In the budget summary handouts received, THE GUARDIAN noted $198k under the total expenses for the mayor. The number sounded very high for just one person. A detail of that budget was requested and sent to me for review by the city finance director.

The Mayor's actual salary is $69,198, also under the "package" is $20,000 "employe performance pay" in the amount of $100 to $300 bonus checks for employees handed out by the Mayor, $10,000 car allowance for the mayor, on top of a fringes and benefits package of $25,425.

Next, is the area of maintenance and operation expenses for the Mayor. This section of the Mayor's budget comes to $72,700. Expenses listed under this part of the Mayor's M & O budget are: $10,000 for an employee appreciation banquet, travel budget of $14,000, community relations $32,500, Mayor's youth advisory council $12,500, dues and associations $2,500.

THE GUARDIAN sent a copy of Idaho Attorney Generals Opinion 78-44 to the city finance director suggesting that the city attorney review the opinion suggesting that some of the items listed under the mayor may not rise to an "ordinary and necessary expense" nor do they serve a "corporate or public purpose". The response to this advisory was to move the employee appreciation banquet amount of $10,000 into the employee performance pay section of the Mayor's budget monies. THE GUARDIAN received a "thank you" from the city finance director for pointing out that the $10,000expense was not in the right heading. There would be no banquet this year and the $10k would now go directly for "merit" opportunities in the form of $100-$300 bonus checks to city employees.

Next area of concern is the Mayor's Youth Advisory Council expenses and travel at taxpayer expense. Taking groups of young adults and other adults out of town at taxpayer expense is a concern. The Youth Advisory Group is not a publicly elected body. What is the corporate or public purpose of the expenses and trips charged to taxpayers by this group? The amount budgeted this year is $12,500 for the Youth Advisory Council. Trips have been taken to Washington DC, Louisiana, San Jose, Reno and other cities subsidized by taxpayer dollars. In addition, other expenses are charged to the taxpayers for this group.

The final budget hearing is scheduled to be tonight after the regular city council meeting.

EDITOR NOTE: The final budget approvals by the city council will take place on 8-18-08. There will be a presentation of the Caldwell budget at the Chamber of Commerce lunch today by the Mayor.

County Finally Closes on Jerome Property

The County Commishes finally sealed the deal on the Jerome property. This must be a big relief for our County Deciders in a short cash year. The real thanks need to go to the folks who brought forward the law suit to stop a $80 Million dollar jail/justice center from going in on that parcel. Given all the financial woes the Commishes are in this year with 10% budget cuts for all departments, personnel hiring freezes and other pain they are dealing out. A new mega-jail construction project would have been a disaster for the taxpayers of Canyon County.

The good news is this "albatross" is off the collective necks of the commissioners and we are moving forward with a bare bones budget this year. The Guardian is wondering if the warehouse jail project out on Hwy. 20/26 is going to move forward in a tight budget year? We went to the Caldwell City Council workshop on water and sewer expansions and there are no water, sewer or gas lines out to the new jail site

Another law suit is moving forward on the current jail construction project. Problem is the commissioners did not learn from the first law suit. They failed to seek Judicial Confirmation on the expendatures in the absence of a voter approved bond election. The jail project is creating a multi-year liability for the taxpayers as it crawls forward. Former Idaho Supreme Court Justice Linda Copple-Trout will be deciding this case in September.

Word on the street is the Commishes have to cut another $5.5 Million dollars to bring the budget in balanced with expected revenues.

3 out of 5 of Us Will Outlive Our Money!

The prognosticators are already out in force and telling anyone that will listen that the BOOMER generation is in deep financial trouble. Problem is we are going to live too long. In short, we all have a 60% chance of outliving our money and the ability to pay for the cost of staying alive.

Already, we are getting the first wave of the vultures that want to pick us clean before we hit the other side of the lawn. Reverse mortgages, long term care policies, annuities, along with a multitude of things to scare the pants off of us and the change out of our pockets.

Not many boomers have planned for the fact they will soon be too old to be gainfully employed at the level they currently enjoy. Nor did they plan for getting old. Defined retirement plans started falling by the wayside in the early 80's. Those who did not figure out this was a cheaper way for employers to make workers responsible for their old age will be facing some difficult choices in the near term. Those who planned and invested, have recently witnessed the free falling value of their retirement nest eggs via the financial markets.

The years ahead will prove out who what the smartest. The ones that planned and invested or the ones who lived in the moment. Sixty percent of the boomers living on the "dole" gives me visions of dog and cat food wrappers and containers in the trash cans of Americas elderly.

"Damn the torpedo's and full speed ahead" as the boomers move toward the other side of the lawn.

New City Hall for Nampa?

"Team Tom" and his trusty followers have gone into the property acquisition business big time. They just recently approved spending $5 million for new library site. Now they have spent another $385,000 for the old gas station behind the Nampa Court Annex.

Mayor Tom and his "team players" are letting the cat out of the bag one leg at a time on all the new Nampa city government building projects.

The big plans call for a new library, new police building, and now comes the new city hall. The price tag for the library and police building is $68 million. The price tag on the new city hall complex is $45 million. Total for all this is $113 million. Bond underwriting and interest charges could make it closer to $200 million by the time debts are retired.

The really rotten part of this scheme is voters will have no say in the bonding if "Team Tom" can get judicial confirmation his projects. Add to that, all Canyon County property taxpayers will help pay for these projects. It is all tucked nicely in the Urban Renewal District plans. Increases in assessed valuations of properties inside the urban renewal district and taxes generated from increased valuations go to the district to spend as they choose. All of this is getting challenged locally as well as in Rexburg. The Nampa urban renewal case is going to be decided this month in district court. The Rexburg case is headed to the Idaho Supreme Court.

Elected officials of all stripes seem to have a lot of difficulty with the notion that citizens have the right to vote up or down these high dollar projects. And they use every means on the books to try and circumvent any voter involvement in their pet projects. They have become addicted to the "easy payment plan" for everything from fac machines to monolithinc legacy buildings.

Problem with the media

THE GUARDIAN just stumbled upon the best description of the media he has seen in quite a while. The 10 Questions section in the July 14th copy of TIME MAGAZINE has printed a unique response by Arianna Huffington.

"The problem with the media is not that they're veering to the left or to the right but that they have an addiction to presenting two sides to every issue, even when the truth lies on one side or the other. I'd much rather we make our preferences and points of view transparent than pretend we don't have them."
This is about the best observation regarding the media at all levels THE GUARDIAN has seen or read in quite a while.

Sad Short LIfe of Home Computer Printers

THE GUARDIAN's hp 7210 all in one printer went down for the last time over the weekend. Hewlett Packard has been the printer of choice for a number of years but not this time around. I took a look around and I could not help but notice all the various printer cartridges I have laying around that won't fit anything. Don't know if this is a industry wide deal or not but when you go to buy a new printer the old printer cartridges won't work in anything that is "NEW AND IMPROVED" with Hewlett Packard.

Not only do you get stuck with having to buy a new printer but all the dough you forked out for extra cartridges is up in smoke as well. I will look for someone that can actually use my old cartridges before they get tossed. The fact that you only get a couple of years light useage from a printer is bad enough but having to eat the cost of the cartridges is more than a little bit troubling.

The good news is that it is a competetive world out there and you can vote with your feet when it comes time to replace stuff. This time around HP was not the printer of choice. We will see how long this one lasts. HP stuff has averaged about two years before it hits the recycling place.

Citizen Lawsuit Moves Forward on Jail Project Construciton

The opening salvo from each side was fired off this past Tuesday over the new jail project out on Hwy. 20/26. The County Civil Lawyer Chuck Saari moved for dismissal and the Citizen Group Lawyer Dick Harris rebutted with why it should move forward.

District Judge Linda Copple-Trout cut through all the banter and cut it down to this: The injunction to halt everything is not going to go anywhere with her as the citizens can't demonstrate irrepreable dmamges, the motion for summary judgement and the outright complaint lodge by Mr. Harris will move forward. Mr. Saari was instructed to supply Mr. Harris with all the documents he requested and to pull the information together where a document does not currently exist. This means quit screwing around with what should be provided and get it done promptly. Next, she instructed the two sides to pick some dates in August to get this before the court.

Crux of the issue is once again Article 8 section 3 of the Idaho Constitution and have the Commishes created a long term liability without consent of the voters. Or at the very least should they have sought judicial confirmation before spending and obligating taxpayer monies to this project.

Note: photo is not of the county jail site but of another jail under construction. The project out on 20/26 will be every bit as large when completed if it moves forward. A 2,000 bed facility is the "dream plan". Photo is from Dave Frazier.

Commishes, Prosecutor, and Cororner Contract SNAFU

Coroner Vicki DeGues-Morris came out swinging in the Saturday IPT over the contract negotiated by the Prosecutors Office and her more or less forced signature on a contract she had very little in negotiating. THE GUARDIAN has done a little research and has come with some additional thoughts for public consumption.

The Board of County Commissioners is the only county body that can negotiate,sign, enforce and terminate contracts. The Prosecuting Attorney can only ADVISE on legal issues of the contract. BOCC authority should not be transferred to another elected official. Under Idaho Law, it is a misstatement of fact and wrong terminology for the BOCC to contract or have the PA "negotiate a contract", the Commissioners have to be part of the negotiation. Additionally, Ms. DeGues-Morris is the elected official that holds the Coroners job and should have been part of the contract talks. The new Ada County pathology contract costs $28,000/month comes directly out of her budget.

The real question here is if the BOCC didn't like the contract with Ada County, then why in the world would they have signed the contract? Why did they do it when the elected coroner was out of town on vacation? Once again, they presented this as the ONLY solution to a problem. We all know there are generally more than one solution to any given problem. Why wasn't the Elected Coroner involved in this process.

In summary, THE GUARDIAN would like to offer section 31-601 of the Idaho Code for your review. The county is described by state law "a body politic and corporate". In this capacity the county has to power to make contracts (31-602). The law makes clear the corporate powers of the county can be exercised only by the BOCC or by agents and officers acting for the board or under the authority of the law. Thus, the BOCC have powers similar in many respects to those held by a board of trustees for a private corporation. The BOCC has and may exercise, only these powers as are expressly or through implication conferred upon it by statute (see Prothero v. Board 22 Idaho 598, 127P.175 (1912).

County "Big Spending" THE END IS NEAR!

THE GUARDIAN has learned via public information County Government is indeed in some serious financial difficulty. Problem is the Commishes and Elected Officials are "wishing" these problems would go away. Reality is things are only getting more serious with each passing day. Nobody wants to face the reality nor the gravity of the situation as they drift close to the "red ink" side of the ledger. The silence and denials are not going to hold up much longer from public scrutiny.

The concerns are several issues:

First, the county tax collections are normally at 60% of expected totals for this point in time for the year. As of today they are at 47% of expected totals. Thirteen percent of a very big number if you are in the tax collection business like the county.

Next, is the issue of fees for services rendered. Down, dead and all but gone in Development Services, building permits, platting fees, recording fees and just about everything related to the real estate bubble that exploded last fall in Canyon County. These fees are not part of the tax collections but are an integral part of the county cash flow to meet cash demands. The total amount is substantial and it won't be there for this next fiscal year as well.

The Commissioners went on a property acquisition binge that has drained reserve funds that were invested by the County Treasurer. Not only is the money gone but the interest and dividends from those funds are gone to the tune of around $1 million dollars of income that the county will not get.

We still have the $3.8 Million dollar hole not filled by the sale of the Jerome Property that has to be made up out of reserves. Golly gee whiz, the Commishes were so sure they were not only going to sell that albatross but actually make a big fat profit when it did close. Property sales agreement signed in January 2008 and still has not closed. These guys do not have a "shoe box" under their mattresses to pull out $3.8 million to make up this shortfall.

The Commishes also have to shell out and settle up with the State Lands Board the $1.2 Million or so they spent on the Job Service Building out behind Larry Miller Ford.

Now let's not forget the budget for fiscal 2008/09. With fees for services down, the Sheriff wanting a big wad of money to keep his "Detroit Iron" rolling down the road with adequate amounts of fuel, increases for health benefits, and a litany of other stuff. The rumor is the county money counters are telling the Commishes and Department Heads they need to adjust downward for about a $9 Million dollar shortfall.

Next year it looks like this...severely reduced fees for services, no substantial new tax base(commercial or residential) to fold into the budget and a 3% cap on the actual amount of property tax increase on existing property and it spells pain and suffering at 1115 Albany Street.

The County Deciders are going to be faced with the stark reality of living withing their fee's and tax collecting means to make their budget projections. This will be interesting as it plays out for public view. Last, there has always been around a 25% carryover of funds from one budget year to the next. The new fiscal year starts on October 1, 2008 and there is virtually no cash flowing into the county treasury from any significant sources until the December property taxes start getting paid off by all of us. This year with the budget mess the Commishes have allowed to happen means they are in big trouble with having an adequate carryover for the beginning of the 2008/2009 fiscal year.

Assessor Data Base

THE GUARDIAN received a post from a reader that has posed a very interesting slant on how our properties get valued by the County Assessor.

The reader has pointed out that the valuations in the Assessor's data base more than likely have very low confidence levels. The confidence in the accuracy of those valuations is directly proportional to the size of the data base. Or in layman's terms, just because a few dummies bought real estate that was way over-priced last year does not mean that the sane people amongst us need to take a huge hit (reads increased valuation) due to the actions of a select few.

It would be interesting if the TV and print media would put the question of the data base size as well as the confidence levels in the data to the good people at 115 Albany. There are huge cracks in the logic and reason used for the valuations we received this year on our properties but no serious challenges have been issued by the media at large.

Editor note: Readers are encouraged to check out S&P's Case-Shiller Index. This statistical methodology has reliability and confidence in the numbers for property values. Wikipedia can explain it all very well to the average person without the mathematical mumbo-jumbo.