Lind Council Meeting 11/14/2023

Lind Council Meeting 11/14/2023 - Public hearing

Рет қаралды 86

6 ай бұрын

Tech problems and had to record with phones. Lost the first 20 minutes or so. My apologies.
The Public Hearing started at 6:30. Bell presented the property tax levy and the 2024 budget to council. Council was mostly silent. Council member Mike Wold came in about 6:45. He had not been notified of the public hearing. The agenda apparently was not posted at the town hall office the day of the meeting and the public hearing notices are so small and buried among lots of other paperwork that most people are not aware of Public Hearings. Not many take the Ritzville Journal. No budgets were available at the meeting for any residents to review.
The regular meeting was called to order a little after 7p.m. Recording starts around 7:15. Councilmember Laura Dew's absence was excused.
There was some budget discussion of raising water and sewer rates $1 each. No discussion of paying back the LOAN. Councilmember Wold will have the rate increase for Well 6 bulk water soon.
Council voted to move forward with another nuisance letter for 210 E 3rd but no decision on how residents will pay for cleanup.
Councilmember Mike Wold was elected protem Mayor.
A resolution 23-11 was passed to charge back bank fees for NSF checks to customers.
Resolution 23-12 raising the property tax the maximum was passed.
Approval of warrants
Public comment and the executive session were not on the agenda.
Right after voted--out Councilmember Jim Dworshack comments on residents complaints to the state auditor and after Resident Snead explains that they call the auditor because they get a bunch of baloney from Paula Bell and Barbara Pence at Town Hall.... Snead lodges a complaint and gets a bunch of excuses from Paula Bell as to why her meter was not read and why she received a ridiculous over charge on the utility bill. See the following.
Resident Snead complained that her meter was not read for 2 years and clerk Barbara Pence could not figure out how to bill correctly so sent out an incorrect bill. Bell agreed to correct the bill and stated they were too busy to bother checking and correcting utility bills BEFORE they were sent out. Reviewing balances and correcting errors before mailing is a crucial step in the utility billing process.
Bell apparently lost the master meter location sheet and/or failed to provide it to the employees so they could do their job and read meters then tried to blame the resident. Other meters on 6th street were not read for long periods of time because the employees did not have the meter location sheet information in order to locate meters and do their job. It is the Town's responsibility to read the meters - period. Not the residents. The residents are not required to train employees on how to do the job. That is entirely the responsibility of the Mayor, who accepts NO responsibility and makes excuses. See the following.
The resident has the floor, is debating that inspite of the software the clerk is supposed to figure out billings and send them out correctly. Clerk Barbara Pence grabs the gavel and bangs it on the table. Resident states that Barbara Pence is out of line and Pence states, incorrectly, that Bell closed the meeting 10 minutes ago. Resident states "excuse me, I have the floor".
Bell says we are done and stops the meeting without vote from council and went to town hall for the EXECUTIVE SESSION that was not on the agenda and was never added to the agenda, in violation of RCWs again.