New Baker City Council to hold first meeting tonight
By Joe Hathaway on Tuesday, October 24th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
BAKER CITY – A new era of governance will be ushered in in Baker City on Tuesday, October 24, as a brand-new city council will meet for the first time at City Hall
Councilors Doni Bruland, Roger Coles, Randy Daugherty and Larry Pearson were appointed by Baker County commissioners on October 18.
The council has been without any members since late September, when the remaining three councilors, including former mayor Beverly Calder, resigned. Those resignations triggered a state law in which the county had to appoint enough councilors to return the council to a quorum, which is four in Baker City’s case.
“We are all glad we are starting to move forward. They have a tough job ahead of them,” said Jon France, Interim City Manager of Baker City. “ I do believe they will work hard on putting things on an even keel, I’m optimistic in that regard.”
The new council will discuss the procedure for filling the remaining three vacant seats during its meeting.
The agenda for Tuesday’s meeting also includes discussions on some of the city’s most urgent matters, such as an anticipated general fund shortfall of approximately $1 million for the fiscal year commencing on July 1, 2024. France says he will discuss potential strategies to generate funds and offset the financial gap.
France says the new public safety fee, which was approved by the former council in August, will also be discussed. That fee, which took effect Oct. 1, is $15 per month for residential water/sewer accounts and $50 for commercial accounts.
“I’ll share some feedback I received on it and how it is necessary to continue for now this fee until the council can take a more comprehensive look at revenue and make the hard choices required.” says France.
France says he will also ask councilors to approve the lease-purchase of a new fire engine, and the purchase of a rock crusher truck for the public works department. France says the city has money allocated, outside the general fund, on both vehicles for the current fiscal year.
Tuesday’s meeting begins at 6:00pm, more information can be found here: https://www.bakercity.com/2293/Meeting-Materials-Webcasts
