Since Rick Schiedler, Mike Donohue and Ray Eder were elected to the Mt. Angel City Council, Administration Department Attorney Fees have increased by 931 percent.
Attorney fees for the two fiscal years (FY) prior to their election averaged $1,626 per year. The attorney fees for the last three fiscal years averaged $16,765 per year, with fees for FY08-09, which closed June 30, being $36,166.
$36,166 equates to about $9.57 for every man, woman, and child in Mt. Angel, or the repaving of almost a half block of Taylor Street.
About $16,000 of the $36,166 was for issues, including termination, between the former city administrator and city council. And there are more legal fees for this termination which will be FY09-10 expenses. Some fees include about $1,500 for the binding arbitration process, another $20,000 for the attorney representing the city in the arbitration process and about $8,000 awarded the former city administrator from arbitration.
Only $10,000 was budgeted for Administration Attorney Fees for FY09-10. During the budget committee public hearings for the FY09-10 budget, which were held after failed mediation, Councilor Eder asked if $10,000 was enough. No council members commented, even though all were aware of upcoming binding arbitration. Four months into the FY09-10 year, the Administration Attorney Fees Account is more than $18,000 over budget.
The costs for recruiting the next city administrator, the ninth in about 13 years, conservatively, might be $7,000 for a recruiting agency, $2,000 for advertising and travel, and about $5,000 for relocation, for a total of about $14,000.
The termination of the city administrator caused another potential economic loss to the city, that is the failure to allocate staff to seek economic stimulus money. At the March 2, 2009 city council meeting Mayor Rick Schiedler responded that other issues had come before the council (city administrator?). The mayor’s response was not included in the meeting minutes. The business decision by the council not to seek economic stimulus money is potentially costly to the safety and livability of Mt. Angel.
Oregon City received $1,000,000 to restore a 71-year-old sidewalk/promenade. Our 84- year-old sidewalks are in deplorable condition, with the sidewalks at many intersections lacking sidewalk-access ramps to make them ADA compliant.
Irrigon, population 1,800, received $900,000 to pave one street and add a sidewalk. This is close to the amount to repave the entire Taylor Street.
The restroom by the gazebo is need of major repairs, more than the paint job it just received. Klamath County received $320,000 to replace a restroom.
Portland State University received $29 million for deferred building maintenance projects. Mt. Angel could use a little of that money to correct the basement flooding and mold problems at City Hall and construct archive storage facilities for city records.
Being conservative, if the council had added temporary staff dedicated to seeking economic stimulus money, the city may have received $500,000 – equivalent to $132 for every Mt. Angel resident, or repaving half the length of Taylor Street.
The approximate total costs for city administrator termination are:
FY08-09 legal expenses = $16,000
FY09-10 legal expenses, to date = $28,000
Recruit new administrator = $14,000
Economic stimulus funds loss = $500,000
Total = $558,000
The above cost equates to $147 for every Mt. Angel resident, or repaving 5 1/2 blocks of Taylor Street.
With council focus on city administrator termination for the past 10 months, if not longer for Schiedler, Donohue, and Eder, little has been done on issues important to city residents, such as improving sidewalks, streets, city parks and public safety. From Mayor Schiedler’s statement, “Now we are ready to start the process of hiring a new city administrator,” residents can infer it may be another six months of the same.
For those not satisfied with the direction of the council, a recall election would cost approximately $1.25 per registered voter. Only 164 registered voters need to sign a recall petition for a recall election.
Jim Kosel,
Mt. Angel
