HUMBOLDT — “It takes a lot to run a city,” is how Cole Herder, Humboldt city administrator, began Wednesday’s conversation about the upcoming city budget hearing.
Not that he expects any pushback.
But if there is any, he hopes people will take the long view in how the small town has come from the brink of disaster to what is promising to be a prosperous future.
When Herder took the position as city administrator in 2014, city coffers held $28,686, of which about $3,000 were at his disposal.
“The other $25,648 were in the street fund, which I could not touch,” for general fund expenditures, he said.
What had once been a healthy budget had been whittled down over the previous decade by Council members who refused to raise utility rates to pay for needed services and repairs.
“When I came on, Council members hadn’t raised rates for anything for 10 years.”
What money they did have, “probably all went to the asphalt streets around the schools,” Herder said.
Today, the city has socked away a $2.4 million rainy day fund and is preparing for a massive overhaul of its water system.
For Herder, the city’s savings bucket is about 80% full. When I started, we had about 7 hours of operating cash. My goal is to have six months of carrover on hand.
“My goal is to have six months of carryover on hand,” he said. That would be $3.4 million.
He probably wouldn’t deny that formula comes from a hint of PTSD. Those first few years of stealing from Peter to pay Paul still haunt him.
“When I started, we had about 7 hours of operating cash on hand,” he said.
When he feels assured the city can handle any “surprises,” then “our fees can level off,” he said.
“There’s no sense in building reserves past a certain point.”
