By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com
The city of Yachats significantly improved its financial position during the 2018-19 fiscal year ending June 30, an outside auditor told the City Council on Thursday.
Auditor Teresa Hanford of West Richland, Wash. walked through her state-required examination of one year of the city’s finances and for two years of the Yachats urban renewal district.
“Overall the cash balances are much better than previous years,” Hanford told the council. “It’s improved significantly.”
She said the city’s general fund increased its cash on hand by $392,400 since fiscal 2017-18; the capital expenditure reserve fund was up by $339,000; the debt service reserve fund increased $172,500; and, the urban renewal district reserves increased by $93,750.
Hanford said the increase in the city’s general fund was due primarily to larger than budgeted revenue from lodging and property taxes.
In other business Thursday, the council:
- Voted unanimously to hopefully settle a long-running issue with the northernmost end of Horizon Hill Road by turning over keys to a gate on Gimlet Street to the Blackstone Homeowners Association. Two residents months ago asked the city to unlock the gate, which they thought belonged to the city, to allow people to drive off the hill to the north in the event of a major emergency. But investigation into records, maps and city memos showed the city never took possession of the road and that it belonged to the homeowners association. “This is not a recognized road,” said Councilor Leslie Vaaler, who spent hours delving into the issue. “It was intended as a nature trail.”
- Heard a request by two members of the Silverton-based Apostolic Christian Churches of Oregon to allow an exception to the city’s limit on vacation rentals so it can turn a two-story home it owns at 696 Pacific View Drive into a retreat center for church members. The home has been a church property for 40 years, but is little used and is in need of maintenance and repairs. The council agreed to discuss the issue at its meeting Dec. 18 or in January.
- Approved nine re-appointments to four city commissions: Loren Dickinson and Lance Bloch to the Planning Commission; Tom Bedell and Bob Bennett to the Public Works & Streets Commission; John Purcell, Linda Johnson and Dawn Keller to the Parks & Commons Commission; and, Marion Godfrey and Nikki Carlson to the Library Commission.
- Spent 75 minutes going over 13 pages of rules governing councilor responsibilities and behavior, including a new section enabling sanctions of a council member who “intentionally and repeatedly do not follow proper conduct.”
