Philomath resident urges cross‑department cost allocation for equipment and capital

Van Hunsaker, introduced during public comment as a Philomath resident, asked the city to adjust internal accounting so that departments outside water and sewer contribute to shared equipment and capital costs. He said the public works staff "do a good job already" but that several departments currently show zero internal charges for services and equipment and so are not paying a fair share.

Hunsaker proposed a relatively small staff effort—an estimated few hours from finance and directors—to break out time and allocate costs across departments. He offered to help city staff implement the approach and suggested the change could be included in the next budget cycle if the council approved. He concluded his remarks by saying, "I do support, the policy," and asked whether council had questions.

Councilors sought clarification on two points: whether the proposal would increase staff workload significantly and whether it would change taxpayers' bills. One council member characterized the accounting exercise as potentially time-consuming, noting directors would have to estimate percentages of time on different activities. Hunsaker responded that the work could be completed with modest staff time and argued more accurate allocations could enhance utility reserves and capital planning; he offered specific but unverified figures during his remarks (those numbers were not validated in the meeting record).

The mayor recommended not to deliberate the proposal during public comment and suggested staff bring the topic back to a committee or future meeting for deeper review.

Why it matters: Accurate internal chargebacks can change how costs are shown across funds and change budget priorities; the council requested staff follow-up rather than immediate action.