2 - DAILY SUN NEWS
SUNNYSIDE, WASHINGTON
NOVEMBER 20, 2009
Warrant executed
O 2010 budget continued from page 1
$10,000 to fence the back area of the police department. Sunnyside City Planner Jamey Ayling detailed the planning and building departments’ budget requests for 2010. Ayling said both departments have merged since they both operate from the same building. The biggest expense request is the hiring of a full-time code enforcement ofďŹ cer for Sunnyside. To budget for this Ayling has asked for $57,000 to cover salary and beneďŹ ts for this position. Both Sunnyside Mayor Paul Garcia and Sunnyside Councilwoman Theresa Hancock were pleased with the planned hiring of a new code enforcement ofďŹ cer but Garcia asked if there was enough work to keep the code enforcement ofďŹ cer busy fulltime. He was assured there was plenty of work to be done and Ayling told the council ideally the new code enforcement
ofďŹ cer will be cross trained to issue building permits, as well. A public hearing on the 2010 budget is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 23, but the ďŹ nal budget won’t be ready at that time. Council plans to open the budget hearing and then continue it to a later date when the budget is ready. Council is still studying whether to ďŹ ll three vacant positions in the city’s streets department. City staff also needs time to make changes to the budget council has directed. - Corey Russell can be contacted at 509-837-4500, or email CRussell@DailySunNews.com
Sunnyside Police Officer Skip Lemmon models the new winter uniforms the police department has purchased. Lemmon was showing city council members the new uniforms at last night’s budget workshop.
O Clean house continued from page 1
or 3 percent to allow for more wiggle room. She said such a low amount to end the year with is “not being ďŹ scally responsible.â€? At its previous budget meeting council was unanimous in cutting utility taxes by 5 percent to lessen the burden on citizens who two years ago saw their water/sewer utility tax spike from 6 percent to 25 percent. Council members Mario Morales, Sophie Sotelo and Oping Hutson last night held the line at 5 percent. Morales acknowledged the 5 percent cutback would be “making it tightâ€? for Mabton in a budget year that calls for stafďŹ ng three police ofďŹ cers. “That’s making it past tight,â€? Stewart countered. “It’s making it impossible.â€? There appeared to be some willingness to negotiate the utility tax discount as Councilwoman Vera Zavala suggested she would like to talk about a 3 percent reduction in the tax. With a 3 percent reduction in utility taxes, the city would hold on to an additional $13,000 per year compared to a 5 percent reduction. Council remained unanimous, though, in recommending a $10 late fee on water/sewer bills paid after the 15th of the month. The move is expected to generate $25,000 a year for the city coffers.
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At approximately 7 a.m. this morning (Friday) the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, a detective with the Kennewick Police Department, ICE and the ATF converged on a home in the 800 block of North County Line Road near Grandview. The agencies served a warrant related to an ongoing investigation and arrested one juvenile male at the scene. Benton County Sheriff’s Corporal Carlos Trevino said further details could not be disclosed at the time.
Council also discussed hiring a permanent city clerk/ treasurer. Stewart has been serving in that capacity on an interim contract basis at 30 hours per week. The city clerk position is budgeted to earn $3,142 per month in 2010. Stewart provided ďŹ gures showing what Wapato, Naches, Moxee, Granger and Zillah pay their city clerks. The survey reected that Mabton pays about $1,000 less per month than the averages of those cities. Salaries ranged from $3,950 a month for the Naches city clerk to $4,900 a month for Zillah’s city clerk. Stewart encouraged council to raise the pay to help draw a better pool of candidates.
O Projections continued from page 1
be a leading economy among ernor’s budget proposal is Western states into the next expected sometime in middecade. Central Washington December. is an important part of the “The governor has hinted at solution, with our large agri- the possibility for increasing culture industry as well as our taxes. Higher taxes will not high-value manufacturing.â€? ďŹ x this shortfall,â€? Chandler During the revenue fore- said. cast meeting yesterday, the He added, “Putting further “I pray for you to ďŹ nd governor’s budget director burdens on our working famisomeone at that amount,â€? she stated the ofďŹ ce is planning lies only takes money out of said of the current salary of- for a $2.6 billion shortfall in their pockets when they are fered. its budget proposal. The gov- struggling to earn a living. Morales sided with Stewart, noting that without a city administrator the city clerk essentially fulďŹ lls some of those responsibilities. Stewart praised council Friday, Saturday, & for the job it’s done in working through the 2010 budget and getting the city’s ďŹ nances back on track. She added a note of concern about the city’s ďŹ scal future. “Whatever you say to do is what I’ll do,â€? she said of ďŹ nalizing the 2010 budget. “But I’m worried about you.â€? Corey Russell/Daily Sun News
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