(12/16) As a result of this year’s audit report of the Town’s finances, where the auditor cautioned the Town on the stability of the Town’s water and sewer funds, concerned citizens used the public comment period at the end of the December Town Council meeting to ask questions of the Council in hopes of getting a better understanding of where the Town’s finances stood, as well as where they were headed, all while calling for a special budget workshop where residents could weigh in on the Town’s budget and spending priorities for next year before the budget "is cast in stone."
Financial concerns raised by residents ran from the shortfalls in funding of the routine operations of the Town’s water and sewer plant, unknown costs related to overdue maintenance items in the water plant, funding for the new Town Hall, and the eventual costs related to completing the state’s mandated lead pipe survey.
Funding Of Water & Sewer Plant Operations
Dorothea Mordan led off the questioning, outlining to the Town Council the sum of the issues she saw the Town needing to address, specifically the ending of the COVID era American Rescue Plan funds the Town has been using for the past few years to buttress the "income" side of the Town’s budget. "How," Mordan asked, "is the Town going to make up for the loss of these funds going forward?"
Mordan also noted that while the income side of the budget question was in doubt, the expense side was even more cloudy. "Our Water and Sewer Treatment Plant (WSTP) cost was based on the salary of $70,000 for an individual contractor, who has recently left that job. He has been replaced by a company that will cost us $180,000 annually. Where is the $110,000 difference coming from?"
Mordan then noted that the new WSTP operator has identified a list of needed repairs because of inadequate maintenance spanning years, the cost of which could easily be in the tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"Woodsboro is showing a shortfall of funds available to maintain our water supply. It is not clear that cash on hand or revenue from the water bill or taxes paid by residents will cover the costs obligated by the Town. There is a new loan for the new town office. It is not clear that the mortgage will be covered by the current budgeted revenue. The logical conclusion is that the residents of Woodsboro will have their taxes increased, and that the water bill may increase by as much as 50%," said Mordan.
Call For Special Budget Workshop
Mordan suggested that the Council allow the citizens of Woodsboro to help them out by holding a special public budget workshop in early 2025, before the budget is set in stone.
"Currently, the budget is submitted by the burgess to the Council at the Town meeting only days before the budget is required to be finalized." Mordan said, "This is the Council’s only opportunity to make changes to the budget, and the public only gets to comment on the budget after the Council has approved it."
While Mordan’s recommendation fell on the receptive ears of Commissioner John Cutshall, who made the same suggestion to the Council at the November Council meeting, Burgess Barnes shot the idea down, stating that residents have always had an opportunity to provide input on the Town’s budget when it is presented to the Town Council for their approval.
Residents, however, are not given copies of the budget prior to the meeting for review and can only comment on items that are brought up by the commissioners during their questioning of the budget. Additionally, they can only raise issues or concerns after the budget has been passed, making any input they might have moot. The budget discussion focuses on the upcoming operating budget and does not address the future capital needs that Mordan raised for discussion at a workshop.
Funding Of New Town Hall
Mordan was followed to the podium by resident Tracy Sando, who, after endorsing Mordan’s call for a targeted budget workshop that would allow interactions with the residents and one that would allow them to provide timely input on budget items, pivoted the conversation away from the WSTP to the funding of the new Town Hall, specifically, the status of the supposed $400,000 grant the Town is expected to receive from the State. Barnes reiterated that he had been promised the money was "there" by former State Senator Michael Hough and Delegate Jessie Pippy and that the Town could not apply for the money until they had incurred $400,000 in costs.
The pair had a heated back and forth, as Barnes was unable to produce any proof that satisfied Sando that the Town had a documented commitment from the state for the $400,000. Barnes interrupted Sando, a grants professional, over 20 times as she tried to press her case for the Council to investigate the status of the $400,000 grants for the Town Hall, for which Sando fears the authorization may have expired. Barnes frequently spoke over Sando as she tried to explain the State’s grant process to the Council, often raising his voice so she could not be heard and at times, outright berating her.
Gerald Sando, following up on his wife’s questions about the status of the $400,000 in grants for the Town Hall, noted that the $400,000 represents a huge down payment on the $1.8 million dollar price tag of the new Town Hall. "If that money is not coming, then the Town needs to figure out how it is going to make up that shortfall. We are already taking $200,000 out of our General Fund for the Hall; if we have to take another $400,000 out, that will leave very little in the bank to cover any major costs the Town may incur in the future, such as an unanticipated breakdown in the water or sewer plant."
Editor’s Note: The News-Journal has reached out to the State to determine the status of the Town Hall grants, but as of the date of this paper going to press, has not received a response.
Funding Of Overdue Maintenance Items In The Water Plant
Andrew Velnoskey, who followed Sando, pressed the Council on when the list of WSTP maintenance items would be released. Barnes said that he was waiting for the return of Commissioner Bill Rittelmeyer, who also serves as the Town’s water commissioner, to go over the list with him. "We need to sort out what items on the list are ‘nice things to do’ and those that are ‘must-do’s.’" Barnes characterized the overall amount as "outrageous" but failed to share any sense of what the town could be facing.
Barnes failed to explain why the list, which was compiled by the new WSTP operator in September after it took over the plant, has not been sorted out yet. When pressed by Velnoskey on the possibility that some of the "must-do’s" could cost a lot of money - money the Town may not have - Barnes brushed the comment off, stating that many of the high-ticket replacement items had already been purchased using COVID era funds.
However, Barnes was unable to elaborate on just how many "must-do" high-ticket item replacement parts needed to be bought. While the Town may have many of the replacement parts on hand, the Town would still have to come up with new money to pay the new WSTP operator to remove and replace the parts, as maintenance tasks like repair and replacement of equipment is not included in the WSTP operator’s contract.
Barnes became visibly frustrated with Velnoskey, who continued to press the Council on when residents could expect to see the list of water plant corrective actions. Barnes berated Velnoskey for bringing this issue up. "I wish these concerns would have been brought forward before we had voted on them because we’ve been talking about them for a year and a half and I’ve never seen you before at a Town meeting."
Commissioner Case jumped into the fray, telling Barnes and his fellow Council members: "I get it, they are just stating their concerns, that’s fine." Turning to Velnoskey, he said, "I appreciate you coming and telling us how you feel about it."
In response to Velnoskey’s question on if there was any way the Council could be more forthcoming in sharing information with the residents, Case replied, "It sounds like your suggestions, and the suggestion of others who have spoken before you, are that you are wanting more publicity or public notice of anything [coming before the Council] in general." Velnoskey nodded his head in agreement.
Velnoskey acknowledged Barnes’ comment that the funding of the Town Hall had been talked about for a year and people were coming late to the game on the issue, but noted that the discussion may have gone differently had people known about some of the issues with the water and sewer plants and their potential costs. "People did not have a clear idea about the status of the water and sewer system, and I think a lot of people would prefer to have water over a new Town Hall."
Funding Of Lead Pipe Survey Corrective Actions
Ed Mordan questioned the Council on the status of the Lead Pipe Survey, noting that like Commissioner Case and Cutshall, he had received a letter from the Town indicating his home may have lead pipes connecting it to the Town water system. Mordan specifically wanted to know what the next steps are that the Town will be taking.
Barnes responded that the letter was a State letter that the State mandated the Town send out to owners of all homes built before 1972 and as far as he was concerned, the issue was done and no further action was required by the Town. Barnes told Mordan he didn’t care if there are lead pipes in his (Mordan’s) house.
Barnes’s position that no more action needed to be taken runs counter to the interpretation of the State Lead Pipe Survey Program requirements, as understood by surrounding municipalities. All municipalities contacted by the News-Journal said that Towns needed to determine if there are any lead pipes in a home’s connection line from the house to a Town’s water system. Towns have until 2027 to put in place a plan to determine the status of the connecting piping of all homes whose status is currently listed as unknown (houses listed as unknown were the recipients of the letter in question). The cost of this determination will be the responsibility of the Town.
The News-Journal reviewed the contract the Town signed in July and found that it only involved a paperwork review of Town records to determine and document what houses were built before 1972, as well as determine if there were any records for houses built before 1972 that could be used to prove that their connection lines had no lead in them. Based upon that review, the Town sent out the mandatory letter to owners of homes where the service water line material was identified as "unknown."
A project plan to identify if a lead pipe is in the connection line to the Town water system still must be developed and executed for those homes that were flagged as "unknown," which the Town has not yet budgeted for.
Click here to see the State’s requirements to complete the lead pipe survey corrective actions
Second Call For Special Budget Workshop
Last to speak was Rose Woodsmall, who said that while she had no plans to speak when she showed up, after listening to the litany of issues related to the Town’s finances, she questioned the wisdom of the Town incurring more debt to build a Town Hall that few would use. "The money you are borrowing to build this Hall, we, as residents, will all have to pay back through increased taxes for years to come."
Woodsmall implored the Council to consider Mordan’s request to hold a special budget workshop to get public input on next year’s budget prior to its development.
In response to Burgess Barnes’ frequent questioning of speakers as to why they had not brought up their concerns at prior meetings, Woodsmall responded, "We can’t undo what happened in the past, but we are here now, and we would like to have input going forward."
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