Ephrata examining funding priorities

EPHRATA - Ephrata is creating a team to determine where the city should spend its money.

The council approved moving forward with creating a 10-member community priorities team. The team's goal is to determine what projects are needed and how to fund the projects.

The idea started when staff members were discussing how to develop a long-term maintenance plan for streets, City Administrator Wes Crago said.

"We've got these beautiful new streets, or will have shortly, and we want to maintain them, so we don't have to do another eight-year massive project," he said. "As we discussed around the table, each department had significant needs that were equal to or even, arguably, more critical than street maintenance."

A memorandum about the team lists up to $12.3 million in projects across seven areas. The fire department listed between $200,000 to $500,000 for engine replacements. The police department listed between $300,000 and $450,000 for a school resource officer, an Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team officer and a police captain. In the facilities heading, officials listed between $1 million and $3 million to replace city hall and the recreation center. The utilities heading included between $2 million and $4 million to continue the water master plan, continue expanding the sewer system, storm water system upgrades and starting curb side recycling. The streets heading included $1 million to $2 million to remove gravel streets and continue the annual maintenance program. City officials listed between $200,000 and $300,000 under the heading "other" to replace a sewer truck and hire a public records officer.

"After a short period of work we came up with these needs," Crago said. "Obviously that would be fleshed out, the details of what the costs would be and the other opportunities for funding."

The city has cut spending by 34 percent between 2002 and 2012, Crago pointed out.

"There is no funding available for these critical needs," he said.

The combination of a drop in revenue and the needs led to the idea of creating a community team to examine what projects are needed and how to fund the projects, Crago said. The team is expected to be similar to one created in 2005 before the city started the street and water pipe replacement project.

"(They were) very critical thinking, smart individuals that looked at the community, that studied the issues, staff supplied them with information, they made a recommendation to you. We went through a massive series of public hearings and open houses and then the recommendation was made for how to go forward with funding."

The committee will create a list of priorities and determine how to fund them, Crago said. Once the recommendations are presented, the council develops a plan. Both would go through a public process.

"Then we would start executing that plan," he said.

Preliminary plans put the creation of the team in October with the team making a recommendation by May. The council would announce its 10-year plan by September, following public events to discuss the team's report. The plan would be finalized by November 2013.