Village of Williamsburg’s FY2027 budget is 90 percent capital projects
Can the village afford to take on so many capital projects? My analysis says "no," but the budget documents provided are scant.
Kathleen Sloan
Kathleen Sloan has been a local-government reporter for 17 years, covering counties and cities in three states—New Mexico, Iowa and Florida. She has also covered the arts for various publications in Virginia, New Mexico and Iowa. Sloan worked for the Truth or Consequences Herald newspaper from 2006 to 2013; it closed December 2019. She returned to T or C in 2019 and founded the online newspaper, the Sierra County Sun, with Diana Tittle taking the helm as editor during the last year and a half of operation. The Sun closed December 2021, concurrent with Sloan retiring. SierraCountySun.org is still an open website, with hundreds of past articles still available. Sloan is now a board member of the not-for-profit organization, the Sierra County Public-Interest Journalism Project, which supported the Sun and is currently sponsoring the Sierra County Citizen, another free and open website. Sloan is volunteering as a citizen journalist, covering the T or C beat. She can be reached at kathleen.sloan@gmail.com or 575-297-4146.
4th G.O. bond issuance for water-wastewater-roads set for September
Residents approved $3 million in general obligation bonds in November 2022 that resulted in a new property tax of 3.50 mills. According to the city's website, interest and other charges will add $550,000 or 18.33 percent "interest." That's an expensive way to borrow, if correct.
Spaceport is still at the mother breast
Looks like the public is supporting a 21 year-old spaceport and still hoping it will reach adulthood, although it will likely take another 20 years to gain self-sufficiency, if ever. Does the public want to pay for a 41-year gestation period?
Truth about the WWTP crisis and solution
It's serious, but City Manager Gary Whitehead, with his forthrightness and depth of detail in reporting foibles and fixes and fund raising efforts, instills confidence that the city can handle the problems.
T or C shadow play of characters line up against whistleblower Sean Barnes
Nepotism requires that city staff pretend the city is an equal opportunity employer while muzzling criticism of leaders. Real talk about the mayor's relations and their fitness to hold their city positions is a fireable offense.
“We’re on our own” — Sierra County Emergency Services Administrator Ryan Williams, referring to FEMA funding
Local and state cooperation will be key in delivering help and recovering from disaster–and a brand new hazard mitigation plan lays out what’s needed.
T or C Municipal Airport seeks a new layout plan for future growth and funding
A new airport layout plan is needed, but nearly $600,000 worth? Why spend time and money on future growth and development if there is no water out there and new water appropriations are limited due to a closed basin? Shouldn't water availability be studied first?
T or C City Commission opens floodgate to tiny homes
The city commission hasn't bothered to pass an ordinance on tiny homes. Now it's granted an owner a variance to have one in the special Riverside neighborhood, making zero findings of fact, leaving the field wide open for others who want a tiny home.
T or C budget – a city dependent on utility fees while it chases the future
Lewis Carroll's search for the snark---sailing across the ocean with a blank map in pursuit of what may be illusory--is similar to the city budget and its blank underpinnings and deficit spending. Yet talk of expansion is rife. The city commission evidently believes in snarks.
City commission’s “goals” and interim budget show preoccupation with circuses over bread
Serious governance and fiscal oversight is still taking a back seat to chasing "quality of life" projects.
Is T or C’s budget going back to milking the utilities?
Is the over $5 million to be transferred out of the utilities, as proposed in the interim budget, to pay for "bread and circuses?" Yes. But in what proportion? In ancient Roman senators' flagrancy, as Juvenal satirized?
Mr. Smith goes to Washington, or in this case, Mr. Whitehead goes to Santa Fe
What the city's future and functionality will be rests largely in the ICIP process. The city needs to up its game in this area to include harnessing the community's support and power. City Manager Gary Whitehead already has game, thank goodness.