Saundra McDavid

Again I am surprised at the Statesman’s slant on news. This time it’s in an effort to put a positive spin on Mayor Bandy’s tax and spend budget. And to do this, the newspaper publishes questionable statements about one of the budget’s opponents. Typical.

The following is a letter from Councilman Al Shoustarian clarifying his reasoning and some of the events that occurred during the budget planning workshop. Shoustarian made an effort to lower government spending, which should have been met with accolades. The newspaper’s article should have been about an elected official actually carrying through on a campaign promise.
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I would like to share my response to some of the comments that have surfaced and to
explain our current situation with the proposed budget.
Based on my personal experience during the last few weeks, the City budgeting
process is in need of change. It must be more accessible for the Council and our
community. I was given information two weeks before the approval process after
requesting information since January. To provide an objective view, the community
will need to break items down line by line. Since I felt the $10,598,693 budget was
fiscally irresponsible, I came up with a draft to possibly cut some areas that seemed
excessive. Since I only had twenty four hours to do this proposal, I am certainly not
suggesting that it is the best proposed budget. However, it can serve as a good draft
for the community as we all go about looking at areas that need discussion and
reconsideration.
The controversy all started when Councilman Semanko and I came out opposing the
idea that we should burden our budget issues on the community in the form of higher
taxes. Higher taxes are the partial answer approved by rest of the Councilmen and the
Mayor to solve budget issues. I do not agree with this approach. I feel there are other
avenues to explore and options that should be discussed before we go after taxpayers
for more money. This may not be a luxury in the next few years as the economy and
other factors influence our area. I believe we should take the conservative approach
with foresight to the future.
My suggestions were not accepted by Councilmen Guerber and Huffaker for further
review and discussion. We have now been left with the proposed budget that was
prepared by the City Clerk with a 3% tax increase and the lowest carry over in many
years. I want you to know that my suggestions were presented with the hopes of
getting the council to have an open discussion about ways to tighten our budget since
most of you are having to tighten yours. Change is difficult, but needed in this
climate of economic uncertainty. I do not feel that this change means cutting the
things that directly affect the safety, health and welfare of our community as some
Councilmen are suggesting. I strongly support our police department and keeping our
community safe. I am a great supporter of our Library. I see the direct correlation
here between the services our community needs and the money spent. Nevertheless, I
see areas that can be tightened: for example Eagle’s Planning & Zoning and Building
departments have more employees (based on population) than any of our neighboring
cities. Are we to wait until next year to face this or do we need to understand the
make-up of economic times and realize the change is needed today?
We are paying $240,593 every year for leasing our City Hall, while the city has an
option to purchase the building for $2.5 million; no account has been established to
save the money for this purchase. The City of Meridian and the City of Star have both
recently built new City Halls. These facilities were paid by savings. No new taxes or
bonds were required. I don’t see why we can’t be fiscally responsible and start a
savings fund.
I encourage you to evaluate our budget and consider what is important for our City.
Please attend the public hearing on the proposed budget at Eagle City Hall on August
19th. Speak up and express your concerns. We would love to hear from you.
Al Shoushtarian