City of Blanding accepts new vehicle allowance policy for city employees

by Roma Young
It took several meetings over several months, but the City Blanding has approved a new Vehicle Allowance Policy for city employees. After discussing the issue at three meetings, the stars were finally aligned for a decision to be made at the January 26 meeting of the Blanding City Council.
City Councilman Taylor Harrison led the process. The policy includes guidelines and reimbursement for the use of personal vehicles by three city employees, including the administrator, engineer and fire chief.
The policy was again discussed and finally accepted by a unanimous vote. The decision led to the need to sell surplus city vehicles, including a 2014 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab and a 2015 Jeep Cherokee.
The vehicles will be listed for sale on online sites. City Administrator Jeremy Redd was given a little latitude in the sales process. He but will come back to council if the bids fall short of the fair market value which was presented to the council. Council will then give more direction if that occurs.
Harrison joked that he will never propose another policy change. All acknowledged that it is a lot of hours and work to make sure everything is legal, let alone acceptable.
City Manager Jeremy Redd has been reviewing the job descriptions for city employees with the goal of improving performance and accountability. The Community Development Director job description was presented for consideration by the council.
The official title of Brett Hosler’s position is Community Development Director/Planner/Building Official/Airport Manager.
This is an example of how small communities do more with less. Each employee in the city wears many hats and perform various tasks every day.
New council member KD Perkins asked Hosler if he is comfortable with his job description. Hosler said he is often uncomfortable with what he has to do, but the job description accurately identifies his duties.
Hosler wore one of his many hats during a presentation to the council about a new online tool the city has developed to assist residents in applying for building permits. The city is concerned about building projects that are moving ahead without a permit in place.
City officials state that building permits are not a great revenue maker and should not be viewed in a negative way. The building permit allows the resident to make sure the proper inspections are done as the project moves along. This insures a safe product and helps keep insurance costs down when the project is complete.
The Blanding City website contains information so residents know what does and what does not require a building permit. A building permit can be a helpful tool for property owners.
The city began strategic planning for the new fiscal year, including budget discussions and a report and goals from each department. As a preface, a short training was given as to what makes up the city budget.
There are two types of funds, the general fund and enterprise funds. The general fund relates to the operations of government and the expenses are paid by taxes, fees and permits. The operations include police, court, council, administration, streets, fire, airport, engineer, visitor center, parks and recreation, and wellness center.
The enterprise funds in Blanding are six separate companies, including water, sewer, electric, gas, storm water and solid waste. They are operated as businesses, with the goal that expenses are paid out of the revenue obtained from the sale of the goods or services. There is no tax funding.
The Storm Water Department report was presented by Terry Ekker. The goal of the department is to build the infrastructure necessary to keep storm water from causing property damage and from polluting culinary and ground water.
The Storm Water Department has identified many needs in the city but lacks sufficient funding to address all the needs. They have been addressing drainage issues through road projects, installing culverts and drainage systems while roadwork is under way.
The rates for the storm water department were recently raised in the hope to address some of the needs in the future. Councilman Robert Ogle asked about the response to the rate increase by business owners. Jeremy Redd said a few business owners realize they were negatively effected by the large rainstorms in the area last summer. As a result, Redd said that the response was not really negative.
A contract, capped at $85,000, was unanimously approved with ICPE Engineering Service. They will help produce the documents necessary to bid out the power distribution project. It was the only company to submit a bid. City Attorney Kendall Laws recommended that the city accept the contract. This has been months in the process and the project needs to move forward.