By MIKE VOSS

For the Daily News

 

Continuing its effort to analyze fees the city charges for providing services, Washington’s City Council is scheduled to review fees associated with its senior-citizens center and the city-operated Brown Library during its meeting Monday.

To get better control of the city’s annual budget-preparation process, the council has started reviewing the city’s various fee schedules. Last month, it addressed the fees the city charges for people to participate in sports leagues that use city facilities.

A city document shows the city’s senior programs are expected to generate $41,180 this fiscal year, but total expenditures are expected to be $266,070, a shortfall of $224,890. The total recreation budget is expected to generate $181,340 in revenue, with total expenditures at $1,370,956, according to the document.

The net cost for recreation programs is $1,189,616.

The document shows that 59 percent of the people participating in programs for senior citizens are Beaufort County residents who do not live in the city, with 41 percent of program participants living in the city. Fifty percent of the people using the city’s aquatics center are people who live in the county but not in the city. Also, 50 percent of the people who use city recreational facilities or take part in recreational events are people who live in the county but not in the city.

As for Brown Library, another city document shows the library is expected to generate $31,700 in revenue this fiscal year and expend $435,551, for a net cost of $403,851.

The document also shows that the library has 2,568 patrons who live in the city and 5,474 patrons who do not live in the city but live in Beaufort County. Sixty people who live outside Beaufort County are library patrons, according to the document.

The net-cost distribution, according to the document, would be $128,959 for city residents and $274,892 for Beaufort County residents who do not live in the city.

For years, city officials have said city taxpayers have been subsidizing the costs associated with non-city residents using Brown Library and city parks and recreation facilities. The city believes that because many county residents — those who live outside the city — participate in the city’s recreation programs, use city sports facilities and use city parks, the county should help cover some of the expenses associated with providing those programs and facilities.

In the past 24 months or so, the city has asked several times that the county provide such funding. The council, during a meeting in 2013, unanimously voted to have city staff forward that request to the county.

Councilman Doug Mercer broached the issue during that meeting.

“May I bring to the council’s attention the county commissioners were presented their budget on Monday afternoon. As you know, about two years ago we were receiving about ($17,000) from the county for our recreational programs. Last year, they took that out completely. This year, we had requested $15,732 from the county for our programs. They have recommended zero,” Mercer said then. “I think it is incumbent upon us, as a council, to go to the county commissioners and express our concern with the fact that they are giving every other recreational program in the county funds, and we’ve got the largest recreational program in the county and they’re providing nothing. Our citizens pay county taxes just like every other citizen, and yet here’s an area the county could assist us with, and they’ve ignored us.”

During Monday’s meeting, Mercer further amplified his concern.

Mercer said those county residents who live close to the city and use its facilities “do not pay their proportional share” of the costs to build and maintain those facilities.

The council meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the Council Chambers in the Municipal Building, 102 E. Second St. To view the council’s agenda for a specific meeting, visit the city’s web­site at www.washingtonnc.gov, click “Government” then “City Council” heading, then click “Meeting Agendas” on the menu to the right. Then click on the date for the appropriate agenda.