Budget Choices and Unanswered Questions

At the June 8th Rivergrove City Council meeting, councilors discussed transparency and budget concerns after the local operating levy ballot measure did not pass.

Budget Errors:

Residents noticed duplicate entries in the budget documents. The City Manager explained that errors in the accounting software caused them, and they would be corrected.

Spending Decisions:

Working within a tighter budget after the failed tax levy, the council approved several fund allocations proposed by the Mayor, including a salary increase for the City Manager. They chose not to redirect funds toward FEMA code updates, as proposed by Councilor Silber. Councilor Silber cautioned that delaying the FEMA updates could expose the city to legal risk and jeopardize residents’ flood insurance coverage. Council voted four in favor and one opposed to the Mayor’s proposed fund allocations.

Planning Commission meeting cancellations:

Have you been waiting to be assigned a Planning Commission date? Questions arose about canceled Planning Commission meetings without the Planning Commission Chair’s knowledge. Council members called for clearer guidelines to ensure the Commission Chair has the final say over their own meeting schedule. No action was taken.

The council ended the meeting by scheduling a follow-up session to review a formal audit report on June 17th.