Moses Lake council candidates gather for forum

MOSES LAKE — Eight candidates who are vying for positions on the Moses Lake City Council gathered at the Moses Lake Civic Center Wednesday night for a political forum.

Each of the council candidates was asked two questions submitted by the sponsors of the forum. In the first question the candidates were asked what the budget priorities for 2017 were, whether they were accomplished and what they should be for 2018.

The candidates’ answers for the first question were as follows:

Moses Lake City Council Position No. 1: Dean Hankins and Michael Riggs

Hankins said in the past the city spent money it didn’t have and the city is currently borrowing from city fund to city fund to keep the budget afloat, which he contends is not the way the city should be doing things. He says he looks at three things when it comes to any project: the up-front cost, the secondary cost and what is not going to be funded because of the project.

Riggs explained that from his experience with other public agencies the majority of any budget will go to personnel. From salaries to benefits and retirement, the lion’s share of the budget will go directly to city personnel. He said without a thorough briefing on the 2017 budget he couldn’t comment on whether the priorities and goals were met.

Moses Lake City Council Position No. 2: Karen Liebrecht (candidate Jason F. Avila was not in attendance)

One of the priorities the city had, according to Liebrecht, was analyzing the city’s ambulance and fire services. She noted a study was just completed to give the city data on the services, which gives the council information to take into account during discussions for the 2018 budget. She said another priority has been streets, and the city is diligently seeking out all measures to account for funds needed for street projects, such as establishing the Transportation Benefit District (TBD) and the placing of a sales tax increase on the general election ballot.

Moses Lake City Council Position No. 4: Dana Borschowa, Peter Josef Steffens, Barry Lawson and Daryl M. Jackson

Borschowa said she is not familiar with the 2017 budget, but she said believes the 2018 budget should support public services like the police, fire and ambulance departments, as well as the parks and recreation department and city streets.

Lawson stated fire and emergency services were a big deal in 2017, which is why the council decided to do a cost-of-service study. He noted infrastructure was also a big issue and a $20 tab fee was instituted to improve the roads, as funds collected from the fee can be used for street projects. In terms of the priorities being accomplished, Lawson pointed out the tab fee just recently started being collected and the jury is still out if that priority was accomplished or not.

Jackson said he is familiar with transportation and last year’s winter wreaked havoc on city streets, with this year’s winter shaping up to be just as bad. Jackson believes when it comes to streets in 2017, the priority was not met and the money set aside for streets was diverted elsewhere. In 2018 he said the council needs to look at different avenues for generating funds for streets, such as reaching out to the Transportation Improvement Board.

Steffens stated the city’s biggest priority for 2017 was fire and emergency services. In terms of the priority being met, he said the council is still working on it and has made progress through the cost of service study that was recently completed.

Moses Lake City Council Position No. 5: David Curnel (candidate Nathan Pack was not in attendance)

Curnel said what everyone needs to understand about the budget is that it is a living and breathing document. He explained things came up during 2017, such as snow removal during the harsh winter, that impacted last year’s budget. He also noted the city is required to have a balanced budget and when emergencies come up the city has to “rob Peter to pay Paul” to make sure the need at hand is met.

For the second question each of the candidates was asked how often city contracts are reviewed to ensure they are bringing the best value to citizens. The candidates' answers for the second question are as follows:

Moses Lake City Council Position No. 1: Dean Hankins and Mike Riggs

Riggs said contracts generally come up every other year for employee groups in any public organization and sometimes there are built-in improvements when it comes to pay raises that are tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). He noted the city has essential services, such as fire, police and ambulance, that must continue no matter what and the city must be constantly aware of what the contract stipulates the city must provide.

Hankins said every contract has a different time period, but in general they come up for review every couple of years, if not every year. He noted some contracts, such as the city’s trash contract, is for 10 years, of which, he said, there are still eight years left.

Moses Lake City Council Position No. 2: Karen Liebrecht (candidate Jason F. Avila was not in attendance)

Liebrecht explained labor contracts are reviewed every two years and other services, such as the garbage service, are on a 10-year contract and the city is limited when it comes to choosing a company to perform a service like garbage, due to the limited number of companies out there and the length of the contract.

Moses Lake City Council Position No. 4: Dana Borschowa, Peter Josef Steffens, Barry Lawson and Daryl M. Jackson

Steffens echoed the sentiments of other candidates, noting contract lengths often vary and the council is constantly reviewing the budgets for different departments. He said “just about” every year there is a review of each of the departments and their budgets.

Jackson said over the last 25 years he has been involved with the city in some form, he believes the city has done a great job at trying to keep “the dollar for the dollar.” Jackson, who previously served on the council, said when he was on the council they regularly rejected contracts if they weren’t suitable to the needs of the city.

Lawson quoted Liebrecht’s answer about the length of the contracts, noting some are for two years and others are for 10 years. He admitted to not having a lot of experience with city contracts and decided to not comment further on the topic.

Borschowa noted the length of the contract depends on the department and service being done, but she said she believes the city has done a good job in negotiating contracts in a timely matter so residents have the services they need on a daily basis.

Moses Lake City Council Position No. 5: David Curnel (candidate Nathan Pack was not in attendance)

Curnel explained the contracts vary in length, but most do not exceed 10 years and some, such as police and fire, usually come up every 2 years and some “things fall in between.” He said he thinks city officials are “very pragmatic” about raises and price increases in the contracts.

The candidates also answered a number of questions that were submitted by the audience.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.