By Aidan Mortensen | KOAL News
In July, during the ‘Heart of Helper’ event hosted by Finley Resources and Wildcat Midstream, Helper City Mayor Lenise Peterman accepted a $121,000 donation from the company on behalf of the city. This money was to be used for city projects throughout the fiscal year.
On Thursday, Sept. 4, the issue came to a head when the city council had to allocate the funds – which reflect approximately 7% of Helper’s annual operating budget – among the departments of the city.
Leading up to the meeting, the council gathered ‘wish lists’ from each department in an attempt to prioritize the most critical needs of each group. Collectively, the council also agreed to set aside $28,150 for a ‘rainy day fund’, a move which bolsters the city’s savings. If unspent, the money would be put into the general fund for the 26-27 fiscal year.
“This is a gift, we should appreciate it,” said Mayor Lenise Peterman. “The idea to share it out among departments, I thought, was a fair way to do it, which is why we asked each department,’ Hey, put together a wishlist so that no department is left behind.”
Council member Dave Dornan proposed that each department be given an equal share of $12,000.
Council member Bob Olson noted that some departments’ wish lists were lighter than others, citing the library’s request of approximately $4,000 for book purchases, which is lower than the much higher requests from the Public Works and Police departments.
“I think it’s more about the general allocation and understanding what the items were that were requested,” stated Peterman. “I want them to get what they think they need the most.”
Community Administrator Cole Stapley noted that the Public Works department manages several smaller budgets within its own, including sewer and street maintenance. “I’m not saying any other department is less important,” said Stapley,” but they do have a lot to manage.”
Olson explained that he had budgeted $21,000 for the department, with an additional $33,000 for cemetery expansion for that reason.
Ultimately, the council distributed the funds as such:
- Rainy Day Fund- $28,150
- Cemetery expansion – $33,000
- Public Works- $21,000
- Police Department- $10,350
- Rio Theatre- $10,000
- City Hall/Admin- $10,000
- Helper Museum- $8,000
- Library- $4,000
When put to a vote, the council unanimously approved the distribution of the funds, prompting applause from those in attendance.
“I thought it was hard to fix the budget, but to try to spend $100,000, it was worse,” joked council member Ed Chavez following the vote.
The meeting was then called into closed session to discuss the funding of security for the city.