By Pauline Masson –
The proposed 2026 City budget began with anticipated revenue of $14,564,313 and anticipated expenditures of $18,713,747 leaving a $4,149,434 shortfall.
As aldermen met in a June 30 special board of aldermen (BOA) meeting to grapple with how to reduce expenditures and balance the budget, a pair of dissenters blasted aldermen with scorching claims that aldermen were not giving the Tourism Commission, Pacific Partnership and Red Cedar Inn their due.
Tourism commissioner Brian McKanna and downtown business operator Christine Slusser voiced anger over the BOA’s changes to the Tourism Commission Budget. The complaint included the Red Cedar Inn with a claim that the city museum/visitor center was not getting the respect it deserved.
“The Red Cedar hate has to stop.” Ms. Slusser said. “The Tourism Commission submitted a balanced budget, certain aldermen tore it apart, then took to social media to complain about the budget they damaged.”
Ms. Slusser served temporarily on the tourism commission but had to relinquish the seat because of state residency requirements. She lives in nearby Jefferson County.
“Tourism proposed a Fourth of July Parade, Railroad Days and a Turkey Trot, and all of them were cut,” she said. “Then $ 32,000 was added for the Pacific Partnership, an organization we all support, but the original recommendation was $5,000 from Tourism and $ 27,000 from General Fund.”
She asked the aldermen to restore funding for the new events, support the Red Cedar, stop spreading negativity, and place the Partnership funding back where it was recommended.
“We need to work together, not dismantle the things that make Pacific special,” she said.
Mr. McKanna, who identified himself as a short-term rental operator said recent board action on the tourism budget bothered him on “many different levels.”
“You decide to rip our funding away. That makes no sense to me,” he said. “One of the ugliest things about this situation is it pits us against each other. We are supposed to be here for the City of Pacific, not for our own purposes or personal friendships. This is supposed to be for the good of Pacific, and I think you lost that in your time up here as aldermen.”
He asked if aldermen were legally allowed to re-direct Tourism funds. City Attorney Robert Jones noted that the Tourism Commission is a recommending body and the BOA is the legislative and administrative body for the City of Pacific. Mr. McKanna stated he understood, but it was a massive blow.
In a replay of the July 2024 critique by tourism commissioners Ann Trent, BigFoot CEO and Jennifer Blakely, Cigar Vault owner, persons in the rear of the council chamber applauded after Ms. Slusser and Mr. McKanna spoke.
What is worth noting here is that the BOA has sole responsibility for managing the city finances. No organization, board or commission is “entitled” to city taxes to support their programs. The Tourism Commission is not authorized to direct any funds from the general fund.
Claims on the city funds include payroll of the 49 employees and 15 part time employees (mayor, aldermen and judge), utilities, debts, emergencies such as water main breaks as they occur. City parks, streets, sewer and water systems must be maintained for safe use.
Aldermen and Mayor Heather Filley spent two hours June 30, after the protest, going line by line on budget categories to balance the spending plan.
The full list of the line items discussed and adjusted is listed in the minutes of the June 30 meeting, which is included in the July 15 BOA meeting packet and can be read or downloaded from city’s webpage.
When a proposed balanced plan was reached Mayor Heather Filley called for a motion to approve the 2026 budget that goes into effect this month.
Approval ran into a snag when Scott Lesh said he opposed the inclusion of contingency funds to operate the parks. He said he was willing to compromise by eliminating the $125,000 the city adds to the contingency balance each year, along with interest from the fund itself, to determine the amount of contingency fund dollars to transfer to the 2026 budget. He asked aldermen to reduce the amount of contingency funds going to parks by that amount.
He noted that by ordinance five yes votes are required to take funds from the contingency fund, and stated his opinion that contingency fund monies should only be used for emergencies.
The board voted to approve the budget but not approve the needed resolution to transfer funds from the contingency fund to the parks. Without the contingency funds in the expenditures column, the approved budget was not balanced, which is required by state statute.
At the July 15 meeting, a resolution to withdraw $234,713, from the contingency fund and transferred to the parks fund for operation fell short of the five yes votes when Mr. Lesh and Alderman Debbie Kelley voted no.
The city now has an unbalanced 2026 budget.
Mayor Filley said aldermen would have to find the $125,000 needed to balance the budget.
“I have looked everywhere and I cannot find $125,000 that we can move,” she said.
As a pallliative to aldermen Gina Braden, feral cat program director said she needed $300 to buy food for feral cats but she understood the board’s delimma and would look elsewhere for the funds.
Police Chief James Klinger also voiced acceptance of the BOA’s proposed budget. He needs an assistant chief for thorough administration of the department but would accept what ever aldermen approved and work with what he has in the department.
Hate for The Red Cedar ? Don’t they understand that this money pit sucks almost $ 400,000 dollars a year from the tax payers pocket books,and keeps that amount from more worthy projects like parks, streets, emergency funds for sewer and water improvements so citizens don’t have to worry about basement flooding every time we get more than half an inch of rain , or new subdivisions don’t have sufficient water pressure for their needs every time a neighbor washes his car.
This tourist attraction has a $ 163,000 loan, $ 200,000 in salary’s, and an other $ 200,000 in maintenance cost, utilities , insurance,internet,yearly Fire Sprinkler testing and inspection required by insurance company, displays and building cleaning an upkeep, and the list goes on and on, after all it IS a MONEY PIT !
IT is an albatross force on us by Herbie and his gang of crooks by three closed session votes 5 yrs ago just to save face because he made a campaign promise he could not keep “I will build The Read Cedar Rehab project only on grants” and he found out the grant people laughed him out of the room we he said he needed an additional $ 9.3 million over the $230,000 they already gave hem to see if the property was worth rehabbing.
And now we are stuck with the loan for another 16 years’
Oh yah , see takes a vacation during one of the most traveled months of the year !
Sorry ; correction on figures in last paragraph on cost of loan .
Initial loan was for $ 2,100,000, with interest of $ 300,000 over 20 years. added as extension to City Hall
bond issue ( under questionable votes not made in public ), plus ‘phony’ change orders of $93,000 added during construction. Total cost for rehab was$ 2,493,300 out of tax payer pockets , not from grants as promised .
There is no hate, only total disgust.