Pullman City Council heard a staffing and financial update presentation from City Administrator Mike Urban during a Tuesday night meeting.

City budget

The presentation covered the tax revenue budgets for the general fund, sales tax, property tax, utility tax and building permit tax, along with the expenses and expenditure rates of each. 

All tax revenues were over budget and all expenditures, except for transit and community and economic development expenses, were under budget. Having tax revenues over budget means the city collected more money in taxes than expected while having under budget expenditures means less money was spent than expected. Exact numbers and budgets can be found here.

Parks and Recreation

Kurt Dahmen, Parks and Recreation superintendent, presented a resolution to amend a fee schedule for parks and recreation programs and facilities. 

Parks and Recreation reviews fees annually and pays special attention to charges outside of their control such as minimum wage, Dahmen said. 

The department endorsed changes to the 2022 Parks and Recreation program and facility use fee schedule at their meeting on Nov. 10, he said. 

Several changes were made to the fee schedule, including increasing the co-ed softball program fee, as well as the aquatic center and preschool daily fees, he said. 

The council moved to adopt the resolution. 

Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport

Tony Bean, Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport executive director, and Urban spoke to the council about financing for the previously proposed new airport terminal. 

They asked if the council supported the new terminal project as presented, if the council supported a local financial contribution and if the council supported funding the project upfront, Urban said.  

The current financial need totals at $7.1 million and city staff say they are confident in the ability to cash-flow the project, Bean said. 

Moscow City Council already met and agreed to match Pullman’s contribution up to $2 million, Urban said. 

There are several different options for internal funding, including lodging taxes and the American Rescue Plan, he said.  

The council motioned to ask the lodging tax advisory committee for advice. 

Pullman Fire Department 

Assistant Pullman Fire Chief Raymond Lamoureux presented a motion to authorize fire department staff to pursue an assistance firefighters grant. 

The grant will be used for driver and operation-aerial training and certification, which is meant to replace the department’s current training video with a high-resolution one, Lamoureux said. 

While the training is not currently mandated, the certification would deter any future issues if it did become mandatory. The training would also provide better information on treating pediatric patients, which the current video does not provide, he said. 

The total training and equipment grant costs $150,240, but with Federal Emergency Management Agency contributions the city is only responsible for $14,625, he said. 

The council moved to authorize the pursuit of the grant. 

Other

Dan Records, who previously served as Ward 2 council member, resigned over the past weekend. Records accepted a job at Western Washington University. The position is open and applications can be found on the website.