It’s that time of the year — budget time. Due to the pandemic and the resulting stimulus funds from the federal government, for the first time under current management, money will not be a problem when preparing our next budget.

A recent East Oregonian editorial characterized this windfall as “free” money, although we all know it’s far from being free since it comes from the income taxes we pay to support our federal and state governments.

Speaking of those stimulus funds, the question arises on how it will be spent. One request comes straight from the city manager. In his own words, the general fund, that pot of money that funds services like police, fire and parks, has shrunk in recent years and the city could use the stimulus to help shore it up.

That’s an interesting statement in itself as it would seem that with all the new construction projects, rapidly rising real estate values, a significant increase in marijuana and alcohol tax revenue, another increase in the utility fee on your water bill, plus federal and state of Oregon grants, common sense says the available general fund dollars should actually be increasing.

So where’s the money going? That’s a question that only city hall can answer.

So where does this new $3.4 million of federal stimulus money fit into the new budget? It appears that the bulk of the funding will end up in the General Fund and aimed at reducing the backlog of maintenance on the city’s vast real estate holdings and infrastructure.

However, with that much cash on hand, the temptation to dip into the pot to cover the cost of some new project proposed by a special interest group, like that new dog park that admittedly the Parks Department can’t afford because of cost overruns on the new Til Taylor Park splashpad, or the latest housing crisis facing the city for more high-dollar housing, may be just too great.

It could turn into another slush fund, much like the Pendleton Development Commission (PDC) has become. Borrowing money to support the PDC projects will be providing a tidy little profit of $200,000 for Banner Bank in coming year’s proposed budget.

Rick Rohde

Pendleton