Mayor pledges to continue to seek
answers on city expenditures
Joe Dominick still seeking closure on how UCF/SDC funds were spent
By William Lundquist and Jessica Keller
Argus Observer
Sunday, October 28, 2007 3:07 AM PDT
Ontario - While Ontario Mayor Joe Dominick said he is now satisfied the city had the right to collect utility capitalization fees all along, he pledged Oct. 17 he intends to continue to press city staff for information about what UCF and system development charge fees collected were spent on.
The problem, he said, was mixing UCF money into the overall capital projects fund. That problem was recently solved, he said, when the Ontario City Council approved splitting the money into three funds: UCF, East Idaho Impact Fees and Capital Projects.
Dominick said he asked Ontario City Manager Scott Trainor Oct. 1 for a project list showing what was spent on what, and he is still waiting. He said Trainor told him it would mean a lot of work for a department already stretched thin.
“I believe when the City Council asks questions of a department director,” Dominick said, “They should get a timely response and an accurate one. Ultimately, the mayor and City Council are responsible for making sure there is accountability, and right now I’m having a tough time getting any accountability. It’s almost like I’m making people mad because I’m asking questions that are the responsibility of the council to ask.”
He said while the city manager hires the city staff, it is the City Council’s responsibility to hire city managers who will maintain accountability.
“I just want to know what’s going on,” Dominick said. “And don’t spring stuff on me for the first time at a Thursday work session and expect me to vote on it Monday.” Dominick said he still wonders why there were three different spreadsheets on the UCF/SDC funds.
He said Ontario Finance Director Rachel Hopper explained to him that the spreadsheet was corrected in subsequent versions, but that each fund balanced.
Dominick added, however, that he has always been impressed with the way Hopper’s finance department, as well as the police and fire departments, turn in balanced budgets.
“Though we don’t get answers to show us accountability from public works, it (the department) has a lot of excellent employees,” Dominick said.
He said it wasn’t the performance of the department he was criticizing, but the lack of information coming out of it. Dominick’s Oct. 1 request for information about UCF and SDC expenses was not the first time he, or the City Council, have requested accounting of expenditures.
At the Sept. 17 City Council meeting, the council directed city staff to provide a full, complete project list of how a $1.3 million transfer from the Capital Projects fund to Public Works Fund in 2001 through 2003 was spent.
When asked last week whether that information was provided, Ontario Public Works Director Steve Gaschler said the request was directed at the finance department to provide the information.
“I don’t have anything to do with that,” he said.
Gaschler also said he could not remember what specific projects the transfers, totaling $1.3 million, went to, stating there were so many projects he couldn’t recall what they were. Hopper, however, said the basic projects the $1.3 million transfer were applied to are already available in the recent UCF audit review performed, which is also available on the city’s Web site.
She said the three transfers, which are listed by general project names, occurred in 2002 and totaled $1,383,126. According to the audit review report, a transfer of $746,108 was made for the North Beltline Water Expansion Project; $542,563 was made for the North Beltline Sewer Expansion Project; and a $94,455 transfer from the capital project fund to public works fund was for the city’s storm master plan.
Hopper said, however, the finance department does not have access to the financial accounting of the projects beyond the general project descriptions. She said, once the overall amount of money is recorded for a project, the finance department does not keep further accounting of the specifics of the projects, such has how much of the money was spent on the design or materials. The project manager keeps track of how much money was budgeted for specific aspects. Hopper said, although she was not at the Sept. 17 meeting, when she spoke to some of the City Council members afterward to clarify their directive, she said they indicated they received everything they needed from her.
Hopper said to access the UCF audit review and other city audit reports, people can go to the city’s Web site, www.ontariooregon.org, click on “Documents” followed by “Miscellaneous.” There interested Ontario residents can find information on past audits, including the UCF audit review, under “Audit Reports.”
