Stevensville Council concerned about revenues

 

By Michael Howell

The new treasurer for Stevensville will find a little more on her plate than she bargained for perhaps, as the mayor and council were apparently unaware until this past week that Clerk/Treasurer Sue Gibson has not been posting any revenues to the Town’s General Fund since last August.

The information emerged upon questioning from the council about a current financial report that showed only 8 percent of the projected revenue for the town’s general fund had been collected. The Clerk informed them that the money, about $306,432, had been collected and deposited but that the deposits had not been entered into the accounts yet.

“That’s a lot of money not being posted,” said Councilor Ron Klaphake.

“You will have a bottom line when all is said and done,” said Gibson.

Councilor Bill Perrin pointed out that it was still unclear if the $306,432 not posted was entirely general fund monies or something else as well, like lighting district funds. He said without correction it shows the town at only 8 percent of revenues three quarters of the way through the fiscal year. He said it was imperative for the council to know if the money was really there or not and from the report there was no way to know.

Gibson said that everything outside of water and sewer funds was not yet posted and that she would have had everything posted but that she was told by the Mayor not to post “or I would have had it done.”

Mayor Gene Mim Mack told the council that when he found out about the lack of posted revenues on Wednesday that he instructed her not to try and post anything in a big rush but to wait until the issue could be sorted out at Thursday’s council meeting.

Gibson called the current discussion “a waste of time.” She said that she felt “cornered.”

“Had I known the questions, I would have been prepared,” she said.

The mayor said that he did inform her of the questions that he thought would likely be asked by the council concerning the financial report.

Councilor Desera Towle said that even though the deposits may have been made, “I don’t think it’s acceptable to have not posted them.”

Gibson said she told the Mayor in answer to that question that other things had a greater priority and “it fell to the bottom of the pile.”

“I’ve been putting out fires for a year now,” said Gibson. “The budget and quarterly reports have been a priority.” She called posting revenues a routine chore that was very time consuming. She said again that she would have had it done but the Mayor instructed her not to do it.

Councilor Perrin said that as a council there was no higher priority because without it they don’t know that they have any money to spend.

Councilor Towle said that it could amount to dereliction of duty.

Councilor Robin Holcomb said that she had not heard anything about this until that evening and that for it all to come up like this “sounded like a witch hunt.” She said the town’s books have not been current since the last clerk.

“To bash Sue (Gibson) about it is not right,” said Holcomb.

The Mayor said that Gibson had been given a heads up about everything that was being discussed and that the suggestion that it was a “witch hunt” was not appropriate. He said the council’s questions about the financial report were reasonable questions to ask.

The council then moved on to other business.

The council unanimously approved a resolution separating the Clerk and the Treasurer positions while retaining the power to combine them again in the future. The council also amended the budget to pay for a Treasurer and unanimously approved the Mayor’s recommendation to hire Stephanie Mapelli as Treasurer.

The council also adopted unanimously a resolution setting the policy for the use of the Town Attorney. The resolution states that only the Mayor as chief executive, or the Council as a whole, has the power to directly contact the town’s attorney. All other employees must go through the Mayor or the Council first. An exception is granted for the Police Chief, Fire Chief and Building Inspector on an emergency basis. These contacts will subsequently be reported to the Mayor. The Chief of Police was also granted an exception for consulting with the town’s prosecuting attorney in the course of ongoing business.

In a 3 to 1 vote the Council also decided for a 60-day trial period to allow the Mayor to determine whether or not the attorney’s presence is required at council meetings or meetings of the committee-of-the-whole based upon the agenda items being considered. It has been the practice for the attorney to attend all council meetings and many committee-of-the-whole meetings.

Mayor Mim Mack said that it has become an issue for him after learning that it cost $450 to $600 on average to have the attorney prepare for and attend a council meeting.

“I don’t think we can afford that,” said Mim Mack. “We need the best we can afford and we need to use what we can afford in the best possible way.”

Councilor Holcomb disagreed with the proposal and said she felt like it was good to have an attorney at all meetings because “you never know what will come up.”

Holcomb cast the lone dissenting vote in the council’s approval of the resolution giving the Mayor the discretion to schedule the attorney’s presence if the agenda item warranted it.

Although the town declined to give the Stevensville Museum a break on its utility bills, they did agree that the museum provides an essential service to the public by its efforts at preserving and protecting the historical nature of “Montana’s First Town” and agreed to make a spot in the budget for a donation to the museum in recognition of its crucial services.

The Council also amended its engineering agreement with PCI for work on the Water System Project, approving an additional $83,520 to the contract. It was explained that the project is over budget on the bidding process due to unforeseen developments concerning the Twin Creeks Well Field and the Kelly Well Field construction.

The council appointed Dustin Wood to the Airport Advisory Board.

The council heard a presentation from Habitat for Humanity Board President Don McGourty that his organization is canvassing the Stevensville community for a possible project site for their next home building project. They will be meeting with the Stevensville Civic Club on February 23 and at the Main Street Association on February 28. He said the organization is looking for a moderate property and would consider a fixer upper. This will be their sixth home project in the valley.