Ronan Council continues to work on passing budget
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RONAN – Departments within the city of Ronan requested $30,000 more in funding for the current fiscal year than a balanced budget will allow. At its Sept. 23 meeting the city council made few indications of what exactly was on the chopping block, and deferred cuts to its Sept. 30 meeting.
There was still confusion about how much funding the city was willing to give the Ronan library, which formed its own taxing district in June, but will not receive revenue from taxes until December. The city has already paid more than the $20,000 it budgeted for the library last year, according to clerk Kaylene Melton. It was unclear if the city intended to continue to fund the library with the expectation of repayment or not. The budget committee said it would meet with the library’s budget committee to hammer out the details. It was the third time in two months that the city’s budget committee said it intended to meet with the library’s budget committee.
The only suggested cut was for the police department’s communication costs.
“Can it be back to $25,000 instead of 30?” asked city clerk Kaylene Melton.
Officer Pat Noble said something needs to be done about the communication situation in Ronan, regardless of the budget.
“It’s getting a little bit ridiculous,” Noble said. “We’re going on foot pursuits and dispatch can’t even copy us on our portables standing out on Main Street. We’re getting shots fired and I can’t get dispatch on Main Street … Literally I found a .410 wad right in front of the bar on Main Street this last weekend. I’m out there by myself waiting for county and tribe to get here and dispatch can’t reach me … If they want to charge us a ridiculous amount for services, and we’re not getting services at least up to a certain standard … I would recommend you guys, pardon my French, but to say ‘negative, this ain’t going to happen for what we’re getting.’”
The police department sent two radios off to the county, which coordinates dispatch, to see why they were having so many problems. The city has not received any word back about the condition of the radios, Noble said. He said other local agencies have not had as many problems as Ronan.
According to Noble, problems have been ongoing for two years.
“We had a perfect radio system that we never had a problem,” Noble said. “(The county) came in and said they needed to put in a backup generator and I believe at that point they moved it....”
Councilman Cal Hardy said the situation was a problem, but the lack of cooperation in fixing it was the larger issue.
“We’re not getting the cooperation that we need to get it resolved,” Hardy said. “We need to get that resolved and put it higher on the priority list.”
The communication issues, coupled with the shortage of officers have created a situation where people are firing guns in town and officers struggle to respond, Noble said.
“It’s getting bad … It’s getting a little bit ridiculous for crime around here.” he said.
The police department requested more money for their budget than last year. Melton said some of the costs were related to budgeting for new computers, because the department’s computers are so slow they have to use the ones in city hall.
Noble added that uniform costs were also factored in.
“It’s ridiculous what they are charging (for) belts and boots,” Noble said. “Just for a cuff case – they cost 50 bucks. A good holster that you can rely on costs 250 bucks.”
Other increased costs include a firearms instructor and field instructor to make sure officers received appropriate certification.
Noble said he would meet with officer John Mitchell, who is currently away at the Montana Law Enforcement Academy, to create a list of costs that are absolutely necessary to keep the officers qualified.
The police department has the biggest budget of all the departments, but recent restructuring also requires more money be spent to make sure officers are trained, paid, and equipped properly.
“They have the biggest number, but with the situation we’re in they have the biggest headache,” Mayor Kim Aipperspach said.
Aipperspach said he would direct all city department heads to identify places in the budget that can be cut.
In other business:
• The council directed public works director Dan Miller to send a response letter to state and federal officials saying the city would like to keep current plans for a bike trail to go through town.
• A representative from Lake County Community Development said that there were several papers Aipperspach needed to sign to close out a grant made to stimulate jobs at Jore Corporation. The grant was supposed to generate 50 jobs, but only generated 32.
