Seldovia council leans toward funding third full-time public works hire as FY27 budget overview is presented

Seldovia’s council spent a March 16 work session reviewing the FY2027 general fund draft and signaled support for budgeting a third full-time public works position to prevent overload of current staff and complete a long list of capital and maintenance projects.

City Manager Heidi led the presentation, describing the city’s conservative approach to fiscal planning—"we budget high for any actuality ... and then, we also budget revenues low"—and noting the general fund accounts for roughly "61% of the overall budget." She told the council the city’s permanent fund principal was set at $500,000, that the account has grown (with interest) to about $700,000, and that meeting a $1,000,000 target was projected on a roughly 10‑year horizon. "The principal is designated, per code, and it, it can be only used for buying property," she said, "but the interest is available."

Heidi reviewed reserve accounts—major maintenance, police/public safety reserve, vehicle replacement, public works and harbor improvements—and recommended an operating fund balance target of about $836,663; she said the city’s assigned fund balance currently sits near $557,858 and that the gap is a continuing audit item to monitor.

The clearest debate among council members focused on public works staffing. Heidi said a half‑time public works employee expects to retire in September, leaving roughly 1.5 full‑time equivalents plus a 0.25 groundskeeper. She presented four staffing scenarios ranging from keeping the current lean staffing to budgeting three full‑time employees. Multiple council members said they favored the most robust option to increase capacity, reduce reliance on a single operator for water work and allow time for mentoring and training. One council member urged hiring a lead who could oversee both public works and water operations.

Council members also pressed staff on how hiring choices would affect benefits and training costs. Heidi warned benefits are the largest incremental cost for an added full‑time hire and factored training (for example, grader operation) into the higher staffing scenarios. No formal motion or vote occurred; the mayor summarized that there was “very good support” to move toward the three‑full‑time scenario and asked staff to proceed with the draft accordingly.

Council members raised additional budget items including property and sales tax projections, a small reduction in projected investment income to reflect market uncertainty, and a question about whether the city pays dump fees for commercial cleanups (Heidi said routine refuse service does not incur dump fees but commercial projects are charged; the last quote cited in discussion was about $200 per load). Wally, an attendee the city invited to answer harbor questions, said the arts council judged an old float too risky to return to the harbor and plans to repurpose its clamshell structure as a stage to avoid a harbor liability.

Heidi proposed deferring an in‑depth review of special revenue funds (water, sewer, harbor, boat haul out, senior meals and newly added volunteer fire and EMS) to a follow‑up session; council agreed to reconvene Monday at 4:30 p.m. to continue the budget process. The meeting adjourned at about 7:22 p.m.