Durbin Says Red Lodge Shouldn't Talk About Raising Taxes Until It Gets Budget In Order
Not much has changed since August
Outgoing Red Lodge City Councilmember Terri Durbin is hoping her last Council meeting as alderman provides answers to crucial financial and operational questions she and the public have been requesting since July, when the 2023-2024 budget was first presented to the Council at the same time it was presented to the public.
At the August 22, 2023, Red Lodge City Council meeting, Durbin reminded her fellow aldermen of that meeting in July regarding the budget where the public was asked to bring their questions to be answered. At the August meeting she noted, that though over a month had passed, the online presentation had not been updated and the questions posed by the public and herself had not been answered. She felt these were important answers to have before she voted on whether or not to approve the budget up for vote that night.
One particular concern of hers was a flow chart of the budget process included in the presentation making it look as though the budget had gone through several processes that she knew it had not. She stated that she can attest that at least six checks and balances steps that were depicted as having occurred at the Council level had not occurred in the two years she has been involved in the process. She urged the citizens of Red Lodge to take a look at the process and the product.
Among the unanswered questions were:
Where are the operational strategic plans for the departments that were supposed to be discussed?
How is the City addressing the audit findings for 2021 and 2022?
Durbin stated that based on the unanswered questions, she has “serious concerns about how we are currently managing our finances”. She also went on record as “strongly suggesting to the next administration…that we bring in a forensic accountant to examine our current staffing, policies and procedures and for them to provide some tangible recommendations going forward to ensure that our city remains viable. So we cannot with a clear conscience, talk to our constituents about raising taxes until we get our finances in order.”
Durbin’s comments can be viewed in the video below:
Councilmember Jenn Battles responded to some of the concerns as a member of the Administration and Finance Committee and admitted other questions remain to be answered. As Councilmember Jody Ronning supported Durbin’s request for operational strategic plans she was interrupted by Mayor Kristen Cogswell who reminded her tensely that those strategic plans were scheduled for October and she would present them to the Council at that time.
The budget for fiscal year end (FYE) 2023-2024 was passed on a 4-2 vote with Councilmembers Terri Durbin and Shinta Daniels dissenting. The rest of the discussion and the vote is available for viewing below:
There was a budget presentation at the last City Council meeting on November 28, but it did not answer many of the questions from July. The Council voted to review the presentation at the next Council meeting and address the unanswered questions and expressed concerns.
The updated budget presentation can be found here.
Among the remaining unanswered questions are:
Where are the operational strategic plans for the departments that were supposed to be discussed? In the above video, Cogswell testily states that the August 22 meeting is the third time she has addressed the issue and that the strategic plans will be presented to the Council in October. As of December 10, 2023, the Council has not received a strategic plan for any department.
How is the City addressing the audit findings for 2021 and 2022?
The General Fund Budget Presentation is on Cogswell’s final City Council meeting agenda. That meeting takes place on Tuesday, December 12, at 6:00 p.m. at Red Lodge City Hall located at 1 South Platt.
Thanks for your coverage- did you video the meeting? I didn’t attend but I heard that Council member Durbin was booed. For the record I agree with Durbin.