The four new members of the Keyser City Council received a whirlwind tour of city government Monday afternoon, with Mayor Glen Shumaker and other city officials briefing the newly elected councilmen on issues ranging from finance to water service.
“That’s something else we need to look at,” the mayor said, echoing the theme of the late-afternoon gathering at City Hall, as the meeting moved from one topic to another.
On finances, Mike Ryan, the city’s accountant, detailed the city’s fiscal 2009 spending plan, which went into effect July 1. The general fund totals just under $1.7 million.
“It looks like a lot of money,” said Ryan, who has overseen city finances for two decades, “but I promise you, it is nothing out of the ordinary.”
Anticipating the council members’ roles as department heads, Ryan urged the new members to ensure that staff within their departments file appropriate purchase orders. Without the documentation, he said, staff in City Hall must track down bill submissions through vendors. In one recent case, it took two days to identify the purchase for a submitted bill.
“I think we need to change how we do it, but I’m not sure how to change it,” Ryan said of the purchase order system.
Ryan noted that the key to the general fund budget is cash flow, which dips in July and August, and around the holidays. He urged the council members to hold of on big-ticket purchases at those times.
Aside from the general fund budget, the city also maintains more than a half-dozen separate specialized funds, including a coal tax fund, rainy day fund, water fund and sewer fund. As of the June 30 end of the fiscal year, the city had about $1.2 million in cash on hand. “There’s nothing missing, no matter what anybody tells you,” Ryan said.
Shumaker noted that the police department is the only city agency that maintains its own credit card. All other city-owned cards are kept with City Administrator Deborah Pamepinto in City Hall.
Addressing the bidding procedure, Shumaker noted that all purchases above $2,000 must be bid out for the lowest price. Council member Dave Sowers, who was the most vocal of the four new members, offering numerous suggestions and ideas on a range of city services, suggested that a separate committee of employees  be formed for each bid purchase, so that all bids are first evaluated by staff, to remove any suspicion of undue influence on the part of the elected officials.
“That way we put us all out of it,” he said.
The other council members expressed their support for that idea.
Water service dominated much of the discussion, with the mayor noting that the city needs a secondary water source. He mentioned the Potomac River as a possibility. “That would be the cheapest,” he said.
Shumaker also noted that the water tank at the Potomac State College campus sprung a leak along a seam in recent weeks. While the tank is in no danger of failing, he said, it must be repaired. However, to repair the tank, it must be taken off line. “That tank up there supplies over half the town,” he said.
Council members said it might be a good opportunity to move the tank to a location away from the campus, suggesting that the college may be agreeable to helping fund such a project.
Shumaker also noted that the Keyser Rescue Squad had approached the city asking that its members be made city employees. Noting that the squad is a paid force, the mayor said such a move would simply be too expensive.
“We’ve looked at it, and basically, we can’t afford to take all of their employees on as city employees,” he said. “It would strain our system entirely too much.”
Toward the end of the meeting, which lasted more than 90 minutes, Shumaker predicted a positive atmosphere at City Hall in coming years. “It will take a while for you to get in the groove,” he said. “But I have a feeling we’re all going to work together well. Things are going to move forward.”