By Scott Unger • Of the News-Register • 

Aquatic center could close Wednesdays without more staff

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Comments

NJINILNCCAOR

I would like to add to the “anecdotal evidence” that Sundays and also Mondays are missed at the library.

Libraries are a great resource that should be supported. Easy access to knowledge is important. Having a safe place where people feel comfortable is important.

I visit the library at least once sometimes twice every week. Have my entire life, no matter where I have lived.

Libraries are a very visible symbol that being smart is OK.

The list goes on.

NJINILNCCAOR

Another quick comment to add that the “contract security“ has been a welcome addition to the library.

I most definitely feel safer and more confident that my visit will be trouble free.

I know we have to be very careful about excluding people from public places, but before the security was brought in, the library was definitely not as comfortable.

B

Am I missing something? It appears that the city is basing its budget needs based on what has been spent in the past. Last years expenditures become the baseline for this year’s budget and from there increases are plugged in. In my experience in the private sector, there were generally two approaches to the yearly budget. The first was giving each department a set dollar amount almost always lower than the prior year (Do more with less). The second was a zero-dollar approach; start without any budget and determine the minimum resources needed to operate and present support for that.

Dan Tucholsky

Disclaimer: I’m a City Councilor.

B, your observation is fair, and historically the City’s budgeting process largely followed the traditional model of using the prior year’s budget as a baseline and then adjusting upward or downward based on anticipated needs.

This year, however, staff were specifically directed to approach the budget differently and to apply a much more zero-based budgeting methodology. Departments were asked to evaluate services, staffing, operational needs, and deferred maintenance from the ground up rather than simply carrying prior spending levels forward and adding to them.

That process is a major reason the proposed budget is currently balanced while also beginning to address maintenance and infrastructure needs that have been deferred since approximately 2018.

The Budget Committee is still working through priorities and tradeoffs, but this year’s process has been substantially more scrutiny-driven than in prior years.

Bigfootlives

Thank you for the clarification, Dan.

What happened to the forensic audit that the mayor campaigned on?

Dan Tucholsky

Disclaimer: I’m a City Councilor.

Bigfootlives, when we entered the 2025 budget session, a new finance software system was approved and, as of May 2026, has finally come online with the ability to generate meaningful financial reports. It has brought greater visibility and transparency to the city budget.

One excellent added feature is the OpenBook reporting portal, which allows anyone to review city finances here:

https://mcminnvilleeoregonbudget.openbook.questica.com/

To answer the question about the forensic audit, the idea was researched in early 2025 and found to be extremely expensive. Instead, during last year’s budget cycle, the Budget Committee conducted a very deep, detailed, and at times contentious review of cost drivers down to the line-item level within each department.

As a result, instead of facing an approximately $3M shortfall like we did in 2025, this year we began the budget process with a positive balanced budget that covered city operations, maintained reserves, and added to capital savings. We also invested significantly in maintenance that had been deferred since 2018.

In addition, we restored Sunday library hours from noon to 5 p.m. and fully funded seven-day pool operations despite new state-mandated lifeguard break requirements.

We also maintained Police Department staffing levels and absorbed an unexpected additional 8% ($53k) increase in YCOM emergency communications fees beyond the original 10% increase already budgeted.

From my perspective, the purpose behind calls for a forensic audit was to better understand where city funds were going and determine how to sustainably fund city needs, maintain infrastructure, rebuild reserves and maintain our current assets while not increasing taxes beyond the $0.50 which was already known to taxpayers.

The 2025–2026 budget process helped set the stage for a much stronger 2026–2027 process, which concluded last night, and overall I believe it was a very positive outcome for the community.

B

Thank you Dan. Appreciate your thoughtful analysis of what has been happening behind our closed doors.
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