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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11272017 City Council LaydownsNovember 27, 2017 City Council Citizen's Budget Comments Carol Griswold I am concerned about many areas in our 2018-2019 budget, especially the substantial increase in real and personal property mill rate. These are some of the unnecessary expenses and subsidies I would like Council to address: Capital Improvement Plan p 106 Postpone or reduce Additional Utility sites in Waterfront Park $400K Reduce Parks and Rec Playground improvements: $725,000 Can these expenses come out of the Parks and Rec budget? Delete Ranger cabin at Two Lakes Park, Lowell Canyon, or Citizen's Field, $20,000. A cabin there is not permitted under our code. Delete Fort Raymond Campground restroom and shower $450,000. Add ADA-compliant Parking Office to replace illegal trailer. Delete dredging of the north end of the Lagoon if this is still in the budget. This would destroy two productive salmon streams and require extensive permitting for no particular good reason. I urge Council to end the city's subsidized winter camping. The 2004 experiment has evolved into a continuing violation of our city camping code that only allows camping for recreational and vacation purposes. The original intent to allow winter RV camping from October 1 to April 14 for recreational and vacation purposes was to support downtown businesses. Instead, the city has created a de facto trailer park in our Waterfront campground where people can live in their RVs for extended periods of time. There are usually between 4 and 6 long-term RVs camped in the winter at incredibly subsidized fees with free WIFL People who LIVE there do not support our restaurants and shops like short-term vacationers. As noted in the 2004 Resolutions: "Winter camping will cost additional resources in winter maintenance of plowing, sanding and ice removal; additional staff hours in fee collection, compliance and power switch-on/switch off and minor maintenance issues... The bottom line analysis is that we are losing money charging $30 per night." The 2004 Council then set the winter camping fees at $2 non -electric and $20 electric. Even with the unapproved $5 non -electric fee currently charged, we've been losing even more money ever since. I urge City Council to end this subsidized experiment, enforce the camping code, and shut down winter camping. We can't afford it. References below, photos attached. ,6, 4, ` �f 1 a i yy Iltll�u,�/�//� '�� �� �i ; p�'o „i rr ��," ,�' 'r /on/ m SSC 15.10.140 Definitions: B. 18. Campground. A plot of ground upon which two or more campsites are located, established or maintained for occupancy by tents or recreational vehicles as temporary living quarters for recreational or vacation purposes. The January 12, 2004 Resolution 2004-09 set the October 1-April 14 winter RV camping rates at $2 for non -electric, and $30 for electric. Winter camping rates had not been changed since 2002. In this Resolution, the new electricity sites in the Resurrection camping area were made available for winter RV camping. As stated, "Winter camping will cost additional resources in winter maintenance of plowing, sanding and ice removal; additional staff hours in fee collection, compliance and power switch-on/switch off and minor maintenance issues. We do not have campground employees available on the weekends, we would need to hire and train employees." The March 8, 2004 Resolution 2004-25 decreased the winter RV electric rate to $20 per night. "The bottom -line analysis is that we are losing money charging $30 per night. We cannot safely cut back on staff hours of winter maintenance, and even without snow. Weather conditions have required a lot of sand and attention. We will continue to lose money if we charged more money per night, because it's obviously not cost-effective for campers to use our park at the current rate." (of $30) As per these 13 year -old Resolutions, winter RV rates are $2 per night for non- electric, $20 per night for electric. I understand WIFI is free and provided in the winter. How much does that cost? Note: the rates charged for dry sites (non -electric) are posted as $5 on the city website and Resurrection Campground bulletin board. I could not find anything supporting this increase though I think it should be even more. The October 26, 2015 Resolution 2015-092, City General Fund/Setting the Mill Rate, page 68, included an increase for the campground utility site rates from $30 to $40 and campground dry site rates from $15 to $20 per night. There was no discussion noted in the Minutes. I don't know if the winter rates remained the same, as it did not say. N / 7 I/ 2 7 Lalwv' TRAVEL REPORT FOR 2017 ACoM & AML I attended the Alaska Conference of Mayors on November 14th, there was a good cross section of communities represented. All of the communities had concerns with the State on the budget and certain bills being introduced. Some items discussed were: Community Assistance program- want it restored to the 30 million dollars level Want the Legislature to have a balanced budget. Be specific on cuts, what programs would stay which ones would be eliminated. Had a presentation from Alaska Housing on loans available through them for energy efficiency. On the surface it didn't look like Seward would be eligible. Had a presentation on HB199, concerning fish habitat. I have asked the Administration to look into this bill to see if it affects Seward. Received a handout on SB 76 changes to Title 4, Title 4 deals with alcohol. The group was in strong support of keeping the level the communities pay for PERS/ TRS. The group wants the Legislature to seek new revenues, but did not have any new suggestions. They did support a school head tax, funds would go to education (k-16). 1 had questions about since this tax was eliminated in the late 70's. If this is introduced in the Legislature we need to look at it very carefully. On November 15th, 1 attended the opening ceremony for the Alaska Municipal League. I was looking forward to the keynote speaker, Terrence Cole who was to speak on Alaska's Local Government Journey. Unfortunately he was ill in New York and unable to attend. During lunch ,we heard from Governor Walker who talked about his trip to China and the results of that trip which I am sure all of you have heard already. In the afternoon I attend a workshop on FirstNet. It is an interesting program, with private infrastructure being upgraded by them with subscriptions being sold to the First Responders for the use of the system. No details yet on how much it will cost. This is an item I have concerns with because of security, cost, replacement of electronic devices. On the 16th, I attended the Legislative panel discussion. Three senators and three representatives fielded questions thank were developed by the Council of Mayors. No big news out of this panel. Report to COUNCIL ( 6 CJL November 29, 2017 C-aJ- d"O Seward Chamber of Commerce, CVB Cindy Clock � SMIC Field Trip with PACAB, Council, Thanks again to the terrific Harbor Crew! � Upgraded to Intuit Quick Books One -Click Pay from invoice � 2018 Seward Destination Guide N Business Directory, Ads submitted. Will proof on Dec 18 — 20, Printing scheduled: Dec 26 — 30, January 5 — 10: Guides delivered to Seward Heat Pump Workshop — 20 attendees came for this Alternative, Sustainable Energy class on Nov 18tnn Pacific Marine Expo N All Alaska booths were located in the East Hall this year. Concerns about less traffic were unfounded as the East Hall was consistently the busiest section of the Expo. "Port of Seward" has reserved space #4215 for next year too. � In the last 12 months, the top five states (and specific markets) driving our website traffic are: • Alaska (particularly Anchorage and the Mat -Su Valley) • Washington (particularly Seattle) • California (particularly Los Angeles and San Francisco) • Texas (particularly Dallas) • Florida (particularly Orlando) We'll be expanding our reach to potential visitors via social media in the coming weeks. Communications Manager Jen Leahy is working with local photographers and is reaching out to travel writers. Hopefully you've all seen that Seward was featured in Main Streets Across America N What is Main Streets Across America? Main Streets Across America is a celebration of streets in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia that reflect strong `main street values', play a central role in the communities in which they are located and have great stories to tell. Main Street is more than just an address. It's where people come together to work, play and experience life. Every great community has a street like this whether it's named Main Street, Park Avenue, Mountain Road or Ocean Boulevard. Our Fourth Avenue has been selected to represent Alaska on this annual list. Last summer the Seward Chamber helped host Doug Olander & crew from Sportfishing Magazine when they came to Seward to fish with Captain Andy Mezirow, Graylight Charters. A fantastic story with incredible kayak fishing photos resulted. A big thanks to Bixler McClure too for sharing the REI holiday photo shoot story that he assisted with. Located on the Kenai Peninsula in south-central Alaska, Seward is home to only around 2,700 people. The quaint port city —known for its stunning, rugged scenery —provided the perfect photo shoot backdrop and inspiration for creating non-traditional, unexpected holiday traditions. We wanted to show people a place in the U.S. that they might not normally think about, show them the wildest, most remote parts of our own backyard. We wanted to highlight the spirit of a small town," said Quinn, senior art director. "Seward had something special about it." The community opened its doors, welcomed the crew, and even offered them ideas for where to go and things to see. Quinn says [The people of Seward] helped us in any way that they could. Small Business Saturday N Over 25 local merchants participated, many shoppers, tons of fun! We've received a lot of very positive feedback from the community, so we're excited to see this event grow. � New Members N Mountain View Sports, Seward (John Staser) & Gone Again Charters (Jeff & Wendy Bryden, Moose Pass) Hotel Seward Open House tomorrow, Wed from 6 — 8 pm � Tree Lighting, Santa's Arrival and the ASLC Community Holiday Party all happen Thursday, Nov 30th at 5:45 pm! The ever -popular Holiday Arts & Crafts Fair organized by the Kenai Crewsers Rowing Club is out at the cruise ship terminal this Friday & Saturday. Chamber Lunches: Dec 8 - Tim Dillon, KPEDD — Industry Outlook Forum in Soldotna January 10 Jan 12 — Cindy Clock, State of the Chamber Jan 26 — Steve Fink, Cryptocurrency Feb 9 — Alaska Chamber, Worker's Comp Reform � New "Old Fashioned Christmas" flyer O 1%v 2 7 , 2-r 7 To the Seward City Council and Mayor: We the undersigned petition that the Seward City Council and Mayor work as diligently as they can to reduce the cost of electric for the small businesses and residents of Seward. Printed Name /Signature 0 VV ► Itt-A AT n d �O ,�> r> Address/phone number L ZxLLb 40 05 L� .:ZAP - 534C M l")( 1v R fxx5) C �nn�-14C1`! of n cod a 17 5- Seewoc l LO�41 5 [ 1 � �,�-�t � Iq (/ & Y (4V inU X M ME Petition to the Seward City Council and Mayor — signature page Printed Name & Signature 9123a, i � ' I W , O . /1r�A =1 r�� it .rA Phone Number or Address A� .4t kq ArIlk A-W Satw O—" AIK q q U(,9 339 s5 3CAZ Gat'& ;�4d poi Scc� d � Po f3 i � 13 �•� (aWl-f-i3 Wc dWj C ,-h plc P o 3qo� TC -9Lz6,3,-1— _rOAK-2zyy : 10 2ZY.T96a ar3 � flfuS ,,Vvri A6 ,:�Iqt,&q - Ltit, e,- 6 - Z %( C,, -,Sl c�% lot- ZZZ--3036 —of.-0 3 (0(0 kr / 41 . f-?� uyL -:5- 69, 7 7 & f To the Seward City Council and Mayor: We the undersigned petition that the Seward City Council and Mayor work as diligently as they can to reduce the cost of electric for the small businesses and residents of Seward. Printed Name Si Address/phone number ter 15S Z 45sam i�a lsh c.je 333 ?/- 101;vA i/O a �J91. /�� � 7J/�d/1 r� �'F•c��Z'+o"-y'G .�►�S'd.Z y�4 �E �iP!�iT .�� J A—& ?o -�.y`l — 3DyCY, qo? = 7(oct -043 ——gCI7-ggl.G6713. 3330 n)Oc-14- tea 116`7)a)o- wahC To the Seward City Council and Mayor: We the undersigned petition that the Seward City Council and Mayor work as diligently as they can to reduce the cost of electric for the small businesses and residents of Seward. Printed Name /Signature Address/phone number '/ 101 Lo0 � ,h;V 03�2 �6(u re 1.�1�, i j E r 333 C q '13¢nY� �- �h -ieL &d Z ZC/ -- -t-7 -7-2 I►1lr A f j�l U��.7s./!1 �• . , �j To the Seward City Council and Mayor: We the undersigned petition that the Seward City Council and Mayor work as diligently as they can to reduce the cost of electric for the small businesses and residents of Seward. Printed Name Signature Address/phone number SV S a v% n u� ari�r��b a�. — %�arrl� �� , � iWrl- WO'"' %l % 1XJSka S PC U003- Sew- 4 rQ( vjILLIAM T. HLA r( �iC ,I �� , I- d �Jbx 142.) S1W*f\b4r rJ C ;L L�i,�t„�;'�,, JJ�'s, �'",-_ �/r- :n.c h'g»l�►�J /�5�0 !��✓ ��^' on 2A44 —,3 Ca 54 t� - l- l b (oz C� iN Po B o�C 3I — Co ,N A� Petition to the Seward City Council and Mayor — signature page Printed Name & Signature Phone Number or Address �AV'Sd h OA Ot 64Aj -Di V4 WA-f 20 enT C'OAO"tL L 7oon Oan4 0 cve 2-to 6 To the Seward City Council and Mayor: We the undersigned petition that the Seward City Council and Mayor work as diligently as they can to reduce the cost of electric for the small businesses and residents of Seward. Printed Name /Signature Address/phone number if Ckry'L 0) 9'0 6*lw'b KA cw-a�n UIL.- Acz� 60tLn A <�:Z,=r k. /i 90'37-3,u Or/W I'Vlgf '?' ,eP qg t - 1 z-7-1 Petition to the Seward City Council and Mayor — signature page Printed Nmm & Skma mm Naneher or Address SD 4/ c n s67J4e,�. , 9126 C_ L v n Phone L1 l (--ccn aa� 76/'7 22-q -53 NO �� F3vx I30y 2 9-404p WEIMMIM -70 i. U41. OU) Brenda Ballou From: Ristine Casagranda Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2017 1:11 AM To: Brenda Ballou Subject: PLEASE PASS ONTO COUNCIL PLEASE EXCUSE ANY TYPOS. I AM AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS. Report for AML 40-4 010A) First and foremost, I would like to thank Council, The citizens of Seward and administration for the opportunity to once again attend AML, Alaska municipal league. Like always, it was well attended with municipal leaders all the way from Barrow to Ketchikan. The conference opened up with a speech from Governor Walker. he spoke on the importance of local government specifically, specificity. He spoke on the importance of not just bringing a concern to legislators but bringing a concern with a final solution to legislators. Next, Governor Walker shared with us his excitement of the feds adopting/approving natural gas as a priority and China's role in bringing more jobs to Alaska. President Shi Came to Alaska this past summer seeking clean energy to bring to China. After governor"s efforts , Alaska LNG is an important federal infrastructure project. The governor is excited about the potential lower cost of energy, the jobs and the opportunity for young folks in new careers that this new project could bring to our state. Governor Walker also included his experience of visiting China with President Donald Trump and being personally greeted by President shl. During Governor Walker's speech, he also mentioned attending listening circles throughout villages in the state of Alaska. I found it extremely exciting and encouraging to know that our governor is personally visiting villages around our state and listening! As your representative, I aspire to be a good listener. 907-362-2299 While at AML I was able to attend 3 workshops individually and a fourth workshop that was attended by all attendees. The first workshop I attended was called, "getting the best deal for your citizens: keys to negotiating with multi national resource companies". The workshop was put on by three professionals ( the consultant, the borough attorney and the borough manger of the Northwest Arctic Borough) that assisted in negotiating a severance tax from the borough to a major resource company that runs red dog mine. Red Dog Mine is a zinc producing mine. A PILT was in place since the conception of the mine and although the PILT was consistent, it was missing the increase of revenues. The borough recognized that the mine was producing high amounts of zinc and there was an abundance of revenues that were not being taxed coming out of the mine so they implemented a severance tax. The mine sued the borough and said the severance tax was unlawful. municipalities have maximum self government. At the end of the day, corporations are doing what it takes to bring their shareholders more money. with research and proper negotiating resources (The borough hired a consultant specifically for the negotiation) The constituents can win! This workshop was inspiring. Although the boroughs negotiations were long, ultimately they were successful and it was all attributed to a united front and strong team. They left us with a quote of unity and vision, "A house divided amongst itself cannot stand" - Lincoln. The borough was able to recognize what it was that they wanted for their citizens and even when things got tough and looked like they could lose they remained strong, united and standing in their vision. The second workshop was attended by all attendees. AML hosted the mat-su opioid task force consisting of six opioid specialists; a doctor, a chair of the governors advisory board on alcoholism and drug abuse, a 35 year Alaskan public school teacher, retired and three other gentleman - two of which had been clean for three years and the other for two years. The mayor of Wasilla was the spokesman. Each gentleman on the panel spoke of their experience and their wisdom about opioids. It was refreshing, for the very first time in all the opioid discussions I have attended to witness a doctor take accountability for the issue. Dr. Michael Alter has been practicing emergency care for the last 27 years. He said that it is time that the medical physicians begin to take accountability for what is happening. His perception is that The addiction to opioids is rooted from physicians over prescribing meds. Dr. Alter was excited to share with everyone the breakthrough remedy and opioid recovery — a gadget placed on the ear that can bring people out of addiction and into recovery without pain or trauma. The overall message of the panel was to recognize when you are using meds for pain versus using meds just to use them, The importance of disposing of unused meds, The importance of having emergency overdose kits on hand, and most importantly the importance of talking to our youth about the danger of opioids. I was moved several times by the panel and found myself in tears of joy and tears of sorrow several times throughout their shares. After the workshop was over I waited out in the hall to speak personally with Dr. Alter. He encouraged our community to host the Matsu Opiod task force. I look forward to making this connection in our community. The third workshop I attended was called what's next for Alaska public safety? Due to the extreme state budget cuts there has been a large cut back in the trooper care needed — throughout the villages and rural areas in our state. They began the workshop by stating what has not changed: The Sitka academy remains staffed and funded all the same, the state crime lab has had no decline in services and search and rescue, sex offender registration and other such programs remain the same. The Public Safety has come up with an action plan. They encouraged all municipalities to visit their website and find their action plan to see how we as communities can participate in the states mission of Public Safety. With cut back resources and an increase in crime the public safety of Alaska encourages everyone to support their law officIals! Currently, of the 380 trooper positions across the state there are 40 vacancies troopers are leaving faster than they are coming. As a municipality the best way to retain officers is to show appreciation, support them, get to know them on a personal level. Finally, the fourth workshop I attended was preparing for the census. They encouraged all of us to reach out to our municipal leaders and ask if everyone has completed LUCA registration. Luca registration is basically the mapping of all addresses with in a municipality that links to google maps. The census is going 100% electronic all across the nation with the exception of the smaller populated villages and they are hopeful for everyone's cooperation. Again, I think everybody for the support in my attendance to AML and I look forward to attending more opportunities to become a better educated councilmember! Sent from my iPad To the Mayor of Seward and Seward City Council: There are many residents in Seward who are struggling to make ends meet. Many of these residents are seasonal workers, or only receive a fixed income such as disability. Some, perhaps, are on a small retirement allotment. According to census, 8.4% of Seward residents are below the poverty level, and that does not include the many who are only barely above that line, all of whom struggle each month to pay their bills and to have enough left over to put food on the table. All residents are impacted by high costs, especially during the winter months. We are aware that due to the storm in 2010 there was a Fuel Cost Adjustment added to the electric bills. This was due to drop off after a 60 month period ending by June 2016. Did this Fuel Cost Adjustment drop off as scheduled? Was there another Fuel Cost Adjustment added following a subsequent storm? In other words, has there been another storm resulting in another budget shortfall in which another Fuel Cost Adjustment was needed? If so, when can we expect it to drop off? According to a 2014 article in Seward City News, a Special Consultant from Rockport, Maine by the name of Mike Hubbard was hired by the City of Seward to examine the fairness of the utility rates and cost of service to customers. His discoveries: 1. Residents were paying about 1% more than actual cost of service 100 large general service customers, including Spring Creek Correctional Center/State funded top employer, and Alaska Railroad Corporation which hosts large cruises, coal ships, and shipping barges, were paying 1 % below cost of service. About 500 small businesses were paying 62% more than actual cost of service. Meanwhile, the City's two largest industrial service consumers, Icicle Seafoods and the Alaska SeaLife Center were paying much less at 57% below cost of service. Did the City Council and the Mayor address any of these issues? The Christmas holiday season will be here before we know it. Many residents note that there is quite a hike in the monthly cost of service during this time. We are told that the season brings an increase in the use of electric for holiday lights, etc., and that is the reason the statements reflect higher charges, even though in some cases there may only be a minimal increase of personal usage, if any at all. The new seasonal rates reduce electricity costs in the winter, and those reductions will be reflected on the upcoming November bills. In January, the electric rates will increase slightly, in response to customers who wanted less variation between the seasonal winter and summer rates. As a result, winter rates will not decrease as much, but summer rates will not increase as much, as they did in the prior year. Also, there has been a notable increase in some Summer month charges. There are two primary reasons for this. One is that the City Council authorized higher summer electric rates in order to provide lower winter rates to year -around customers. Therefore, electric bills were higher in the summer but will be lower in the winter. The second primary driver is the fuel costs charged to the utility from Chugach Electric Association, which reflects the amount Chugach pays for fuel they need to service Seward's power needs. This fuel cost includes a combination of natural gas and diesel fuel. The Seward utility passes through these fuel costs to our customers with no markup, based on consumption (kilowatt hours of energy used). The more energy that is consumed service area -wide, the lower the per kilowatt hour fuel cost is on each customer's bill. When overall consumption declines, fuel costs increase to each customer. That is part of what has caused the increase in fuel costs to customers (some large customers have either stopped operations (Aurora Energy coal terminal) or reduced consumption (Vigor shipyard), so that will cause fuel costs to shift to other customers, based on their consumption. We have been told by the utility clerk that this increase resulted from increased usage by tourists, campground electric, etc. Why are any of these scenarios fair and equitable? Why should residents pay for any electrical usage other than their own? Questions 1. Did the Fuel Cost Adjustment generated in 2010 drop off as scheduled? Yes. This adjustment was the result of the avalanche that took down the power lines between Seward and Anchorage. Because the City was without power, Seward Public Utilities had to generate power on its own for an extended period, using its own local generators which consume significant amounts of fuel while generating. The resulting costs of that event were passed along to customers over 60 months to avoid large increases over very few months. The amortization of those additional costs was completed in May 2016. 2. Was there another Fuel Cost Adjustment added following a subsequent storm? No In other words, has there been another storm resulting in another budget shortfall in which another Fuel Cost Adjustment was needed? No If so, when can we expect it drop off? 3. Did the City Council and the Mayor address any of these issues regarding the distribution of electric rates after they were examined in 2014 by Mike Hubbard? The City Council has made a number of electric tariff changes since 2014. First, small businesses were given a rate holiday in 2016 and 2017, where they were the only rate class to avoid any rate increases. Residential customers were placed on seasonal rates to provide rate relief to year -around residents, offering them lower rates in the winter when they tend to use more power, and higher rates in the summer when they have the flexibility to control their power consumption. Icicle Seafoods was put on a five-year glidepath toward the Large General Service rate, to eliminate the subsidy they receive, by increasing their rate each year so that in the next five years, they will be paying the same as other Large General Service customers. The subsidy was previously implemented to encourage Icicle to expand production and continue to provide year -around employment and to expand the through -put of product brought into Seward, to encourage economic activity. By growing the economic pie, the entire community benefits in the form of more jobs and down -stream spending benefits to other local business. The Alaska Sealife Center was placed on a ten-year glidepath to the Large General Service rate, to eliminate the subsidy they receive. However, that facility is owned by the City of Seward, which will be required to take over the facility should the Sealife Center be unable to maintain their financial viability in the long-term. The Sealife Center management suggests that a significant increase in their power costs may jeopardize their financial viability, which could potentially shift higher power costs from that business, onto other users, since fuel costs are spread out based on consumption. 4. Why should residents pay for any electrical usage other than their own? (The electrical usage of tourists, large industrial service consumers such as Icicle Seafoods and the Alaska SeaLife Center, and other residents in the Christmas season) 5. Does the council usually approve contracts worth over $250,000 (50% of the 4% bed tax) to go to the Seward Chamber of Commerce? The City Council has passed resolutions in the past, expressing their desire to use one-half of the bed tax for the purpose of bringing in more visitors to Seward to support local businesses and increase jobs (tourism), as well as to promote economic development initiatives. Therefore, one-half of the bed tax is given to the Seward Chamber of Commerce to provide marketing for Seward, and to promote Seward's economic development. Changing this allocation would require an amending resolution from the Seward City Council. Is it true that the average Alaskan city chamber of commerce contracts are only around $40,000? 6. How much of the 4% sales tax is going to the city owned hospital? If it is a large amount such as $500,000, couldn't we use some of those funds to help lower the cost of utilities? The City's very first sales tax was a 1% sales tax voted on by the voters solely for the purpose of providing healthcare services in Seward. Since that time, the sales tax rate has increased to 4% with 1 % continuing to fund healthcare, and 3 % helping to fund local government services (police, fire, public safety, street maintenance, snow removal, parks, recreation, library, planning and zoning, building inspection, etc.) The portion of sales tax that goes toward healthcare is approx. $1 million per year. These funds are pledged in bond covenants first to pay for debt service associated with bonds to finance healthcare facilities. Any remaining funds provide upgraded equipment to the hospital, clinic and long-term care facility (CT scanners, emergency room equipment, furniture, lab equipment, building repairs and upgrades, etc.), and then are made available to fund any operational shortfalls. This funding source cannot be used to lower the cost of utilities as it was voted in by the people for the purpose of providing for healthcare. 7. Could you explain what Transfer -out worth over $1 million is being transferred to? Where are Administrative fee, other fees, and depreciation funds worth over $1.7 million going to? The transfers are primarily related to the electric utility's payments -in -lieu -of -tax to support the general governmental services of the City. If the utility were owned by a taxable corporation (rather than by the tax-exempt City), that corporation would be subject to sales taxes and property taxes which would support general government services. Therefore, the utility is charged these costs as if it were a privately -owned corporation, in order to alleviate the need for the local government to raise tax rates to provide the same level of local government services. The administrative fee is simply a means to reimburse the departments of the General Fund which provide services on behalf of the electric utility. For example, the finance department pays the accounts payable and payroll checks for the utility, manages its accounting and financial reporting, and performs all billing and collections functions for the utility, and therefore assigns a portion of its costs to the utility. The city manager and city council serve as the manager of the utility, and its board of directors. A portion of their costs therefore, are borne by the utility. The concept of administrative fee is that if the utility were a stand-alone business, it would have all of these costs. The administrative fees are paid to the General Fund to reimburse it for the services it provides to the utility. Depreciation "funds" are not cash payments; they are expenses which recognize the depleted value of assets during the year. Therefore, those expenses do to "go" anywhere but are reflected as expenses which diminish the value of assets held. 8. Are council members who have been on the council for a decade or so, and have put Seward in approximately $47 million dollars in debt seeking re-election? The City's elections have recently concluded. The bulk of the City's debt is associated with the long-term care facility, and those bonds are repaid directly from the revenues associated with the patients in the facility. Harbor bonds are directly paid through moorage fees and passenger fees of the users of the harbor facilities. The Electric Fund has bonds for replacement of World War II -era backup generators, and a new building and warehouse in which to maintain the new generators. These critical infrastructure items provide the community with a reliable source of generating its own power to reduce dependence on any other utility for guaranteed power to our town, especially in the winter. All general obligation bonds of the City are voted on by the people in an election; therefore, when voting, the public commits the City to the repayment of these bonds. These are not always decisions made solely by city council members. 9. Is there is a 7% sales charge on electric usage within the city limits? Yes, the City's portion of sales tax is 4% and the Kenai Peninsula Borough's portion of sales tax is 3%. This rate is capped on the first $500 for each service, each month. 10. Did the council look at the options to sell the electric utility, or negotiate with providers for competing rates that might provide a lesser charge for the residents? The concept of selling the electric utility has been brought before the public in the past and voters did not approve the sale. The City does negotiate its power contract and will do so again in the future. The rates charged to the City by Chugach Electric Association (the entity which the City purchases its power from), are regulated by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, and therefore must be a reasonable reflection of the costs of providing power to Seward. As a co-op, Chugach does not earn a profit, but instead returns any "profits" to the participating entities through annual dividend rebates to our utility. Those are used to offset the costs of power. The administration is proposing to expand the utility's participation in hydro power by supporting the utility's participation in the upcoming Battle Creek project, where purchased power is expected to cost at least 30% less than existing alternatives, although it will meet a small portion of the utility's power needs. These are the types of things we pursue in order to keep costs as low as possible. 11. What are the long term plans for monies to pay for the clinic. Will there be continuing grants to keep it in operation? Seward's clinic is a federally qualified health center model which was put in place a few years ago in order to reduce the burden on local taxpayers for the cost of uncompensated care for individuals who were uninsured or underinsured. Many of those individuals had no choice but to use the emergency room for health care, since they could not afford to go to a clinic, but could not — by law - be turned away from the emergency room if they had an emergency health need. The solution was to steer these patients toward lower -cost health services at a clinic, where they could receive preventative care and manage healthcare needs before they became urgent. The federal funding for this program exceeds $1.2 million per year for the clinic. These federal grant funds allow Seward's clinic to serve all patients regardless of their ability to pay. Patients who make less than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines are eligible for a sliding fee discount on clinic charges, and the federal funds cover these discounts. This results in individuals receiving care at the most affordable location (clinic) rather than waiting until they are so sick that they require the most expensive care (emergency room). The City of Seward is a co -applicant with the non-profit clinic operator, but the City is the recipient of the grant funds. These funds, along with patient revenues, provide the bulk of funding to operate the clinic. In the first year the clinic was opened the City provided funding to help the clinic begin operations, and each year, the clinic has required less funding from the City, with the ultimate expectation that they will be fully self-sustaining. At that point, the clinic will have improved the financial impact to the City by nearly $1 million per year, which was the amount of losses previously covered by the local taxpayers, and essentially now paid for by the federal grant program. These grants require federal funding and are therefore not guaranteed. However, the funding program for this grant programs has historically enjoyed large-scale bipartisan support in Washington DC because community health centers have been proven to be the most cost-effective mechanism for providing primary care, in the US. 12. Does the new library cost the city yearly? If so how much? Does the library pay utilities? The voters approved bonds to construct the new library, with the majority of the facility paid by State grants. The remaining balance on the bonds is approx. $3 million with annual payments of $246,800, and these bonds will be repaid through property taxes. All City facilities, including the library, pay for utilities. 13. How much is the city paying for gas and insurance on the city vehicle pool? The City paid $65,000 in 2016 for fuel which included all heavy equipment (road graders, dump trucks, plows) and trucks/passenger vehicles, police cars, etc. needed to provide City services. Insurance (comprehensive and collision, and general liability) insurance cost approx. $48,000 for all City vehicles and equipment. 14. Who owns the SeaLfe Center and does the city provide any on -going funding? The Sealife Center is owned by the City of Seward, managed by the Seward Association for the Advancement of Marine Science. The City does not provide any funding to the Sealife Center, but does provide subsidized electric rates. It would be interesting to know if anyone on the council has considered that Seward might file for bankruptcy to wipe away its large debts. The State of Alaska does not have a provision for local governments to file bankruptcy. In any case, the debts of the City of Seward were legally authorized by the voters of the community and the elected body (Seward City Council). When voters approve general obligation bonds, they do so with the knowledge and agreement that the City covenants to repay these debts and if necessary, tax rates will be increased to cover these debt obligations. Courts would require the City to raise tax rates to cover debt payments, so defaulting on these debts is not a legally viable option. Detroit, Michigan filed for bankruptcy on their extremely large debt of 18-20 billion dollars in 2013. Jefferson County, Alabama filed for bankruptcy in 2011 to the amount of 4 billion dollars. There is also the idea of outsourcing/privatizing city government. In this way an outside source/company would take over the reins of city government. The City does outsource many of its service needs through contracted services for things such as engineering, some snow plowing, janitorial services, maintenance, construction, equipment rent, etc. While companies do not take over the operation of city government services, they are partners in accomplishing many tasks when they can accomplish those tasks more cost effectively than the City. Please note that the residents of Seward and the outlying areas of Seward who get electric supplied through Seward Electric Utility would all like to pay less for their electric, not more. There was talk that the council brought up the idea of a 2% increase to the electric bills in January 2018. Is this true? If so, did the council then, or since, approve or disapprove by vote? The City Council has approved the rates for 2018 which include an increase of 2.1% to the City's energy charge, which will be offset, in part, by a decrease in the Chugach Electric energy charge of 2.0%.