For two years now the City of Sun Valley has contracted with the Wood River Valley Community YMCA to provide recreational services for its residents and visitors. This has been done because the City does not have its own comparable recreational facilities and it is more economical to contract for them with an organization such as the YMCA. The City also contracts for recreational services with the City of Ketchum Parks and Recreation Department.
The contract with the YMCA has been quite a contentious issue with many of our residents because of the nature of the YMCA (a private, non-profit organization), considerable community misunderstanding about the City’s relationship with the YMCA (was this a pledge, a commitment, a charitable contribution, etc.?), use of local option tax receipts to fund recreation (is it appropriate and legal?), and some unfortunate statements and implications made in the past by certain officials (reinforcement of the mistaken notion of a pledge, commitment, etc.).
During the City’s mid-year budget review and our review of the current year contract for services with the YMCA this May, we had the opportunity to finally air those issues in a public forum. As a result of a public process, I believe we can put those issues to rest and continue an open, honest discussion about the City’s future relationship with the YMCA. The decks have been cleared of the former baggage and the stage has been set for a much better public dialogue about future funding of recreation services. There are no longer any perceived strings attached.
This exercise brought to light problems in the way the City has conducted its budgeting in general. It will most certainly help the Council in its future budgeting processes; something for which I have long argued. We need to create more accountability and a clearer set of deliverables from all those we hire to provide services. I insisted on that last year in our contract with the Chamber of Commerce and we made some headway in that process. Much more needs to be done in all our contracts and I believe we now have a Council and Mayor committed to those goals in future budgets. Although I was unable to convince my fellow Council members to agree to a more precise set of deliverables in the YMCA contract for the current year, I am hopeful they will agree to tighter accountability in any future agreements, should we pursue them.
I also discovered recently that there have been abuses over the past several years in our Community Support Grant Program which funds smaller projects. Many citizens complained that the Council was handing out money right and left to virtually any good cause that came along. After an investigation, we found that their claims were not completely off base. The problem is, that in several cases, certain grants were made in direct violation of City policy as they were never approved by the City Council. They were approved and paid administratively by senior staff or the former Mayor.
As a result of this abuse, the Council has decided to put a moratorium on all further Community Support Grants and has zeroed out all remaining funds in that budget line item for the rest of this fiscal year. We have agreed to take a very close look at the Community Support Grant Program policy and determine where it can be modified and improved so there is complete transparency and greater accountability in the program. This review should also be another way to improve the City’s budgeting process.
In March I wrote about transparency (at this link), how it was a campaign promise in 2005 (at this link), and how I was following through on that promise. The process we are going through now is a continuation of my commitment to the voters of Sun Valley that I am deeply concerned about the financial future of our City. My commitment to our City’s future, by working to ensure we have a strong and vibrant economy with the appropriate infrastructure to meet resident and tourist needs while treating our tax dollars in a responsible, businesslike manner, go hand in hand. That is the careful balancing act we must always weigh.
It is an honor to serve you.
Thanks, Nils, for your comments and commitment to the city’s financial future. I understand the past promises of the city to the Y. I am heartened that there will be future examination of the Y and their fiscal policies particularly what was promised and what was delivered. Their financial situation seems, to me, to be precarious particularly in light of what they still own to Ketchum and the additional 3 million that must be raised for the ice rink, one of their original priorities.
As to the rest of the list, I am happy to hear that it was cancelled until examined more closely. There were a couple on that list that I really questioned.
Peggy (and Tom, too)