Competition for Citizens Budget Committee: Appointments to be Made by the City Council
10 Seek Positions on Ashland’s Citizens Budget Committee
By David Runkel
Ten applicants; five vacancies. That’s the situation facing the Ashland City Council next week as it fills seats on the Citizens Budget Committee in a year when the city is facing multiple challenges in balancing its budget.
The applicants include a former city councilor, the former chair of the Parks board, the former Budget Committee chair, leaders of the city’s airport and transportation commissions, business people, a retired professor of public policy and administration and others with financial and budgeting experience.
The 10 applicants are:
– Richard Barth, a 26-year city resident with a background in private investment. He was a member of the Ashland School Board’s Budget Committee for 12 years and is chair of the city’s climate action policy committee. He says his experience will help in assessing the city government budget.
– Andy Card, a seven year city resident, who is a local restaurant owner and former international businessman. In his application he said he has a “strong interest in seeing the city thrive” and that it “allocates resources wisely.”
– Dr. Anne Cowden, a four-year city resident, with a doctorate in public administration and 40 years of teaching public policy and administration. She wants to improve the city’s budgeting approach.
– Jeff Dahle, an Ashland native and city resident for 33 years. He’s a former small business owner with corporate experience and currently chairs the city’s Airport Commission. He says in his application that he’s committed to the city’s “long-term financial success.”
– Christine Fernland, a 12-year Ashland resident, who has corporate budget experience. She says her work with people “having conflicting priorities” would be of benefit to the budget process.
– Mike Gardiner, a 37-year city resident, was a former city Planning Commission chair and a member of the Parks Commission for 18 years, many of them as the chair. He says he has attended most of the Budget Committee’s meetings the last 20 years and knows the process well.
– Shane Hunter, a 12 year city resident, is seeking his third term on the Budget Committee, where he has served as the vice chair and chair. An accountant, he was also a member of the ad hoc cost-cutting committee. He says his service is his way of giving back to the city that has nurtured him.
– Eric Navickas, a 30-year city resident, is a farmer who has a booth at the Farmer’s Market and previously was elected to a four-year term on the City Council. He says he would add to the “breadth of citizens” on the committee.
– Linda Peterson-Adams, a 12-year city resident, who is a retired gardener and educator. She has been a member of the Transportation Commission for four years, is active in city political campaigns and has watched every Budget Committee meeting. She says she wants to ensure that the policies of the mayor and Council are carried out through the budget which must be balanced.
– Leda Shapiro, a two year city resident, who formerly was the Director of Finance for the AFSCME Council 36 in Los Angeles. She said she researched Ashland’s city budget before deciding to move here.
The city’s general fund budget was balanced this year primarily by not filling vacant positions. The previous two years $4.3 million in federal Covid-assistance grants filled budget gaps.
Among the challenges facing the city in the coming two-year budget will be paying for the 11 percent city salary increases negotiated last year, an expected sharp increase in city pension payments due to the stock market decline and inflationary price increases.
