Paying their fair share

Though tensions seem to have eased between the Saratoga Town Council and the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board (SCCIJPB) compared to where they were over a year ago, the joint powers board is still keeping an eye on proceedings with the Town of Saratoga.

During the August 11 meeting of the SCCIJPB, Chairman Richard Raymer led discussion in regards to the administrative fee charged by the Town to the joint powers board. Board members also discussed the ongoing review of the board’s bylaws and the original joint powers board agreement.

Councilmember Jon Nelson, who serves as a representative to the joint powers board, was absent.

Negotiations

The first full month into the new fiscal year saw the joint powers board presented with an invoice from the Town of Saratoga in the amount of $12,000. The annual fee has been charged by the Town to the joint powers board due to the municipality handling the fiscal accounts and billing for the board. While the amount was approved for payment by a unanimous vote, there was a significant amount of discussion before and after the vote.

“I know that conversation’s coming up as far as what our fees to the Town are going to be in the future for administrative costs,” said Raymer. “I did ask Marie (Christen) today to compile a list of all the Town properties and their water usage for the last 12 months so we can put on average how much the Town’s using for water. In case they decide they want to change that cost on us, we’ve got some negotiation power.”

The discussion of how much the SCCIJPB could or should pay to the Town of Saratoga began over a year ago during a presentation to the Saratoga Town Council by James Childress. Childress, who had been engaged by the Town of Saratoga from September 2019 to December 2020, had argued the $12,000 paid by the joint powers board was not enough to cover the administrative costs incurred by the Town of Saratoga. He had also, around that time, applied “retroactive overhead interfund allocations” to multiple enterprise funds including the water fund and sewer fund.

These adjusting entries were reversed by Stewart Webster last month.

Later, under the report from the director of public works, Raymer brought the discussion of the Town’s water usage. According to Raymer, with the bolted water tank shut down, he believed it was a good time to begin examining water loss. The chairman added he had requested Christen present the board with a monthly account of what was being billed so it could be compared to Director of Public Works Jon Winter’s monthly accounting of how much water was pumped.

“As we start to get these leaks fixed, we can hopefully start shrinking that number down,” Raymer said. “Everything should be metered now.”

Going through the Town properties using water, it was revealed that Kathy Glode Park uses more than 500,000 gallons a month while the community garden uses more than 50,000 gallons a month. It was noted by Raymer the community garden was not required to pay for their water usage.

Raymer noted he had not talked to Nelson about the administrative fee or if the Saratoga Town Council was considering adjusting the fee.

Bylaws and agreements

More than a year ago, the SCCIJPB had engaged with the Laramie-based firm Corthell and King to review the board’s joint powers agreement and create bylaws for the board. Since then, there has been little report from Raymer, who has served as the point of contact with the law firm. At the August 11 meeting, Raymer stated he and the firm had been “playing phone tag”.

“He had some questions for me and I just flat couldn’t get connected with him,” Raymer said.

Though there was little to report in way of bylaws, Vice Chairman Craig Kopasz asked if Corthell and King would be reviewing any proposed ordinances regarding tap fees on the SCCIJPB’s behalf. In June, a question from Octagon Construction regarding whether the developer of a subdivision or the property owner should pay tap fees served as a catalyst for amending municipal code.

“That’s up to the board. I don’t know if we want to see a proposed ordinance before we bring more expense to us and yet another attorney into the mix,” said Raymer. “My opinion is we review the proposed changes and then at that point we can decide if we’d like to send it on to our attorney, do our own review or if we like what the town attorney has to say.”

Treasurer Russ Waldner stated he believed the broader question in regards to the ordinances is what impact they would have on the joint powers board. While the SCCIJPB can make a recommendation to Saratoga’s governing body, it doesn’t mean the town council must follow those recommendations.

“I don’t feel that this board has a right to tell the town council ‘Don’t follow your ordinances’,” said Waldner.

Kopasz stated the board would need to have the joint powers agreement, which originally formed the SCCIJPB, reviewed and updated as well. The agreement, which was first created in 1976, has been amended a handful of times with the most recent one being in 1982. Last year, former Town of Saratoga legal counsel Tom Thompson, testifying before the Board of Carbon County Commissioners, cited his interpretation of the agreement to state the SCCIJPB was not “entitled” to any of the user fees collected on the original water and sewer system prior to the formation of the joint powers board.

This was referenced by Waldner as the board discussed the need for the agreement to be updated and in line with current state statute.

The next meeting of the Saratoga-Carbon County Impact Joint Powers Board will be at 6 p.m. on September 8 at the Platte Valley Community Center.