Amity to hold budget hearing Wednesday

The Amity City Council will meet at 6 p.m., Wednesday, June 3, for a public hearing of the approximately $9 million fiscal year budget and state revenue sharing.

Amity has a set levy rate of $3.6105 per $1,000 and will be accepting public testimony at the meeting.

Councilors will also receive an update on plans to create a needs analysis for public facilities.

“Recently, a potential consultant reached out about doing work related to public facilities for the city of Amity. After visiting with this consultant, they expressed the willingness to offer some limited work for a discounted rate,” City Manager Nathan Frarck wrote in a memo. “I’ve considered what it would take to complete at least an initial Community Needs Assessment in-house, and believe that it is doable over the next 7-8 months.”

Frarck believes city staff could complete most of the assessment with some help from a consultant.

“The proposed project will likely not dive too deep into facility inspections, conceptual site plans, or detailed alternative cost estimates,” he said. “However, I believe I can take a solid swing at engaging with the community to discuss what are truly community ‘needs,’ where key service gaps are, and at least an initial idea of how we might be able to address those needs.”

Also during the meeting, councilors will consider rate increases from both Recology Western Oregon and the Chemeketa Cooperative Regional Library Service, which is raising its annual fee from $9,025 to $14,296. The regional library states that the increase fee is to supplement partner libraries’ collections.