Making cuts

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
Despite all four accounts in the Newcastle  budget running in the black for fiscal year 2021, the City Council decided on May 10 to cut some requests from service providers for city subsidies. 
Financial requests from the service providers include the Newcastle Area Chamber of Commerce, Weston County Senior Center, Weston County Children’s Center, Northern Wyoming Mental Health, FOCUS, Weston County In-Home Health, Newcastle Ambulance Service, Weston County Youth Services and the Weston County Humane Society. Those requests total $214,750. The city’s  estimated fiscal 2021 general fund budget is $3,633,250. 
Mayor Deb Piana suggested last year that the city look more closely at requests from service providers in this year’s budget workshops. On May 10, she asked that the city consider not granting increases in some budget requests and cutting back some funding requests in others.
“I have a strong opinion when it comes to decreasing a few and not giving as much to others,” Piana said. 
Piana said that she wanted the council to specifically discuss the funding of FOCUS, the humane society and the chamber. 
According to Piana, the operations of all three entities in the city and county were questionable, in her opinion, and funding provided by the city should not be increased. In the case of FOCUS, Piana said, she thought that funding should be decreased until the organization makes some changes. 
Budget documents provided by City Clerk Greg James state that FOCUS usually receives $6,500 from the city. The FOCUS request for fiscal 2021, which starts July 1, was $8,000. 
Piana suggested that the limit its contribution to FOCUS to $5,000. 
Police Chief Jim Owens, when asked about the department’s relationship with the agency, stated that the department had very little interaction with FOCUS in the past six months, so it was hard for him to offer. 
“I do think it is an important service for the community,” Piana said. “But I don’t think it requires three full-time employees and I don’t think they need $6,500 from the city.” 
Council members voted to decrease the funding provided to FOCUS by $1,500. 
Piana told the council that she did not think it should approve the Weston County Humane Society’s request for $20,000, which was $3,000 more than it received for fiscal 2020. According to Piana, the society does not shop for its supplies locally and she thought that any organization that gets funds from local government should do its best to shop local. 
Council members asked Owens for information about the police department’s interaction with the society. He said that while his department’s only interaction with the group is when an animal is impounded, he has not seen an increase in their numbers or need. 
After a brief discussion, council members decided to allot $17,000 to the humane society for fiscal 2021 and to express their local shopping concerns to the society. 
The operation and direction of the Newcastle Area Chamber of Commerce was also scrutinized during the budget workshop. According to information provided by James, the city gave the chamber $13,000 in fiscal 2020 and that its request for fiscal 2021 was for $20,000. 
“I suggest that we continue with the $13,000,” Piana said. “To me, they are almost nonexistent right now. Before they would host events and their banquet, and they don’t do any of that now. I’m not sure what direction they are going.” 
“I concur,” Councilman Don Steveson said. “I haven’t seen much activity from them in the last several months.” 
The council declined to approve the $20,000 request and instead will allot $13,000, the same amount as fiscal 2020. 
The council also discussed the $100,000 provided to the Newcastle Ambulance Service as a service provider for the city. 
“I understand they are needed, and I understand what they provide, but they are a privately owned business,” Councilwoman Pam Gualtieri said. “I have issues with giving that much money to an entity that is not a 501(c)3 nonprofit. It is a for-profit business.” 
Piana expressed a similar opinion, while James argued that there is no way the city could fund the service and that it is in need of the funds provided by the city. 
“Whether or not the city wants to start paying for all the standbys is the question,” Owens said. “And what about those calls where he goes out but doesn’t pick anyone up. It is nice to be able to call them and ask to have that ambulance on standby just in case. That would be my only question. If the city decides not to subsidize, are we going to start handling it as a pay-by-call situation?”
Piana maintained that the proposal was not to eliminate the funding but to decrease it because the service is for profit. 
“I think I am picking up on the subtext that the fear is that Roger (Hespe) is milking us, and the reason I say that is I feel that I have always found Roger to be forthright and transparent,” Councilman Michael Alexander said. “I think if you ask to take a look at the financials, he would provide those.” 
Councilwoman Ann McColley expressed similar thoughts, stating that Hespe has had
an explanation for things in the past and that, while she can see where Gualtieri is coming from, the service provided by Hespe is excellent and not cheap. 
The council decided Monday, May 19 during their regular meeting to continue funding the ambulance service at $100,000 for FY2021.