The upcoming election for Watonga City Council is highly anticipated, with many citizens considering running for one of the four open seats.
However, according to the lone council member who does not have to run for re-election this year, Ryan Bruner, would-be public servants should take the time to educate themselves before they are seated, or maybe even before they run for office.
Bruner has served under both the former mayor-council form of government as well as the newer manager-council form. And he, like others before and since, came into office with ideas and an agenda of what he wanted to get done and things he wanted to change.
That idealism ran smack into the reality of city government in either form.
One thing he didn’t know, he said, was the public works authorities – basically the utilities department including water, sewer, electricity and trash – are businesses the city owns. The city then leases the equipment, buildings and such back to the authorities. The revenues the various utilities bring in are paid to the city.
Each business must pay its own way. For example, light and water must cover the costs of the product it sells – tap water and electricity. Then there are other associated costs, such as employees and benefits.
Infrastructure upkeep, replacement and upgrades have long been deferred because the city did not have the cash on hand to build a new drinking water plant. It is underway now because the state Department of Environmental Quality mandated it, forcing the city’s hand.
City Manager Karrie Beth Little said she knows there is frustration among citizens caused by utility bills.
However, to those who would run for council with the idea to slash the rates back to just covering the costs of running the authority, there is a rude awakening waiting.
“They will need a check for $13 million, because the loan could be called if the rates are cut,” she said. The income from the increased rates were pledged to repay the Oklahoma Water Resources Board loan to build the new drinking water plant.
Additionally, the rest of the city budget would be heavily impacted as well. Where once there were four employees, there would be only two. Services would be scaled back as well, because the revenue from the authority also helps defray those costs.
Others considering a run for office tout the idea of returning to the mayorcouncil form of government. The council can’t just declare the change, it would have to go to a vote of the people, just as changing to managercouncil did. Since municipal elections are only held in odd years, the election to change forms could not be held until 2027.
Bruner talked about wanting to do something about various streets in town, only to find they were on the list, but there were others that received priority. And if there isn’t enough money to go around this year, it will have to be put off until next year. Bruner acknowledged he had a steep learning curve and points out it those considering a run might want to do their research before filing for office Feb. 3-5.
The thing is, he said, there are reasons, laws or issues that slow or prevent changes that seem like a good idea on the surface. One of those might be returning the trash routes to the city. But alley pickup is gone forever, he learned, because trash trucks are no longer manufactured that will fit down the alleys in Watonga.
One way to uncover the limitations faced by the city council is to ask sitting or previous members. City staff is also available to answer questions or point residents in the right direction. And searching through state statute, while time consuming, can provide a clear picture of what a council can do and what it cannot, no matter the form of government in a town or city.