Two short and relatively uneventful Patagonia Town Council meetings in May brought a welcome respite from the testy gatherings of the past few months and there were even light-hearted moments to savor as the council dispatched mostly routine business.
It took a mere ten minutes for Mayor Ike Isakson to call the May 9 meeting to order and gavel it to an end, as there were no reports from the mayor or staff nor any items on the agenda save the routine ones.
The May 23 session was a bit more interesting as it included a public hearing on the proposed FY 2018-19 budget followed by the council’s unanimous adoption of the budget which Town Manager Dave Teel described as a very tight budget that reflects revenue some $300,000 below the current year and a modest 3% raise for town employees. One reason that the revenue has dropped is that fewer fines are being levied for motor vehicle violations, which Marshall Joe Patterson said is a good thing, adding, “We’re not here to impose fines. We’re here to correct behavior and there’s been a significant increase in corrected behavior.”
Also at the latter meeting, the council renewed the town’s agreement for cleaning the roadside rest area, appointed Kathy Pasierb to the Flood and Flow Committee, appointed Kathy Noaker to represent the town on the swimming pool advisory committee and tabled a decision on assigning to the Flood and Flow Committee responsibilities for a Program of Public Information, which is part of the town’s application to improve its standing in FEMA’s system for determining flood insurance rates.