New position is designed to increase community livability

For the most part, the city of Corvallis' $105 million proposed budget for next fiscal year keeps the status quo, with no significant cuts, officials said.

For 2008 and for the long term, however, the city needs to determine whether to find additional funding sources or trim services, and the Core Services Committee already is looking into that.

"We've got some tough questions in front of us," City Manager Jon Nelson said in an interview.

The proposed budget was unveiled during a Corvallis Budget Committee meeting Thursday night. On May 10, residents can testify to the commission during a public hearing at 7 p.m. in the fire station main meeting room.

Despite the financial uncertainty, a few items have been added to the proposed budget, most notably a code enforcement officer.

The position, designed to increase community livability at a cost of $120,000 per year, would primarily deal with complaints of garbage, abandoned vehicles, gross lawn furniture and other potential nuisance ordinance violations.

"This is responding to community concerns," said Ken Gibb, community development director.

Nelson said the amount of testimony given by frustrated neighbors to the Budget Commission was the most he'd ever seen.

Residents from areas surrounding Oregon State University strongly spoke in support of the new code officer, and South Corvallis locals did, as well.

Herb Heublein, who has lived in the 300 block of 13th Street for nine years, said irresponsible renters and owners are leading to a degradation of the community, and a decline in property values.

"The two blocks between Monroe and Van Buren are almost like slums because nobody takes care of them," he added.

He talked of couches on lawns, cars parked on yards and, beer bottles and cans strewn everywhere.

Corvallis currently has an employee working on code enforcement about six to eight hours a week. The 250 complaints the city receives each year probably will increase with a full-time officer, Gibb said.

The budget also adds two other positions. A half-time police property and evidence clerk would be paid for by other reductions in that department, while a full-time administrative support worker for the Public Works Department would be funded by grants.

Next year, the city could delay hiring for vacant positions if it realizes it's in dire financial straits and needs to adjust sooner.

In other budget news:

• The city is on track to spend about $85 million this year, about $15 million less than its $100 million allocated in the adopted budget for 06-07, and $18 million less than the $104 million it actually spent in 05-06.

Nancy Brewer, city finance director, said many projects and purchases were pushed back into next year, such as a $1.4 million street lights project. Department leaders also don't typically spend everything allocated, she said.

In 2004-05, the city spent $76 million.

• A bond measure for the senior center, originally anticipated for 2007, has been pushed back to 2008 because it will increase operating costs by $150,000 at the center, Nelson said.

• The city's property tax revenues increased less than 1 percent for this year's budget, while 2.3 percent growth has been the norm.

The result was $400,000 less in property taxes than anticipated. The year's proposed budget, with $19.4 million in property taxes, actually is down 1 percent from last year's adopted budget.

The decrease was due to Hewlett-Packard and other companies having a greatly reduced assessed value.

• Some revenues increased, including the transient room tax, which was up 4 percent. Brewer attributed that to higher room rates and more people staying in town. A strong Oregon State University football team contributed by bringing visitors to Corvallis.

Fines and forfeitures were up 6 percent because of the number of traffic and parking tickets increasing. "That's not that big of a piece of the budget," Brewer said.

• Several community efforts that asked for funding from the city were turned down this year, including Wildcat Park, Garfield Park, the Beaver Bus, the Corvallis Environmental Center, diversity efforts and the Corvallis School District, which asked for a school resource police officer.

Kyle Odegard covers the city of Corvallis and Benton County government. He can be contacted at kyle.odegard@lee.net or 758-9523.