Money is the efficient means by which we manage our basic economic need to trade with each other. It's an abstract concept with tangible effects managed and manipulated by numbers - symbols that most people are not eager to embrace. 

So goes my "deep" reasoning for the seemingly rampant dissociation of many local government officials, their staff, and their peers in non- governmental agencies, from understanding and monitoring their financial responsibilities to the public. (This can be true also for businesses and non-profits of every size). Here are three local patterns I see in spending public money.  

1. Leap before you look. You see this pattern when a public entity seeks funding for a glamorous project that is ill-defined but in the entity's purview.

An example is Ketchum Community Development Corporation's (KCDC) request this week for $90,000 from Ketchum's Urban Renewal Agency (KURA). The KCDC Director would use this rather large amount to hire a consultant to study the feasibility of a new public parking/affordable housing project on a city-owned lot at 6th and Leadville.

The proposed study would review relevant ordinances, provide a development strategy, identify a funding structure and sources, select the architect and contractor, and yield conceptual and schematic designs. This lengthy and expensive process would culminate in.....a cost estimate for the project!  As you can see, much of the cart would come before the horse - paid for prior to any formal commitment to the project! 

Fortunately, KURA Commissioners, sounding doubtful, asked for more information. (One might ask why the Director, hired for the job of creating affordable housing, is unable to perform the basic exploratory tasks himself?)

A different group of Commissioners was not so careful a few years ago when they gave $100,000 to Mountain Rides for its proposed Transit Hub.* Money in hand, and despite public opposition to the idea, the agency hired engineers and designers, held public meetings, created and revised designs and consumed vast amounts of government and public time for ongoing review. A poorly conceived idea, it is now virtually non-existent - for which most residents and businesses are grateful. 

2. Grab-it-while-you-can. You see this pattern when money becomes available to an agency through federal or state grants, private donations, in-kind matches, or other sources. A pet project that no one has seriously considered before suddenly springs to mind for an elected official or others with influence. The "if there's money, why not?" thinking takes hold; a low-priority project leaps ahead of more important public goals.

The Transit Hub is, again, a useful example. Mt. Rides applied for and won a $300,000+ federal grant restricted to certain types of transit improvements. Grant in hand, Mountain Rides proceeded with the hub idea. Now, it faces the prospect of returning the grant or inventing another way to spend those tax dollars within their restrictions. I think the agency's best move would be to say "thanks, but not now" to the grant and learn their lesson! Similarly, Mountain Rides still has $80,000 of Ketchum's original $100,000 that it has offered to return (if the KURA wants it). Again, I hope the KURA asks to have the money returned, rather than letting the agency fritter it away on some other questionable project! 

Here's another example. Ketchum's Parks Department partnered with the Wood River Land Trust to build a $2.5 million river park on BLM-owned land at the mouth of Hulen Meadows. The plan was motivated, in part, by the Land Trust's promise of six-seven figure donations from wealthy individuals and special interest groups. The Department proceeded to spend $600,000 of taxpayer money (excluding staff time) on "concept  development" and designs by engineers, designers, and hydrologists to meet BLM specifications. Facing strong opposition from Hulen Meadows and others, the plan has shrunk significantly and may not proceed at all. For now, it is suspended pending a river study required by the BLM, aware of public opposition and environmental issues.   

3. Make it impossible to fathom. This pattern is seen in the budgets and financial reports of governments and agencies that are beyond public comprehension. Whether this is deliberate or not is a good question. Certainly, Citizens will be challenged if they want to evaluate public expenditures and hold officials accountable. Even if they try, however, it can become clear that many elected officials (especially new ones) don't understand their budgets either! Everyone seems to think, "This is way beyond me," when it shouldn't and doesn't have to be that way.

You can check out local government budgets on their websites. Hailey provides the most clarity about the City's income and expenses. It posts monthly updates on line item expenditures to date and against the annual budget for each department. Column headings are clear and each numbered page tells you the document where it can be found. This user-friendly formatting means that anyone can get a quick feel for what's going on in Hailey, including that it's an administratively well-managed City! Neither Ketchum's 231 page budget nor Sun Valley's 22-page budget comes close. I didn't look at the County's budget.

Beware especially of financial reports done by outside consultants. Once, in a public meeting and looking at a KURA budget prepared externally, I saw apparent double entries and other confusing numbers. When I asked for an explanation from the City Administrator, he had none. A follow-up newspaper report said the budget had been temporarily withdrawn for further work.  

As we move forward, let's be sure that government is transparent about its activities with taxpayer dollars. The public should get, and it should demand, budgets and financial statements that are clear, commonsensical, and appropriately detailed.

Until next week....Jima Rice 

*I mistakenly reported last week that the funds came from Ketchum's City Council.