DILLON, Mont. -- A situation that had resulted in around 15 city employees of Dillon still waiting to receive their paychecks for the month of July has finally reached a resolution. Though, after a contested special city council meeting at Dillon's City Hall on Friday, it remains evident that a long-term solution to the city's budgeting issues has yet to be worked out.
Entering Friday, Dillon mayor Michael Klakken reported a deficit of approximately $94,000 in the city's general fund budget, which is the sector responsible for the payroll of many of Dillon's city employees. Klakken says that the previous mayoral administration is largely responsible, due to overspending, accounting book errors, and enacted litigation.
State law forbids Klakken from signing checks out of a negative-balance general fund account, or else he could be held financially liable.
As a result, more than a dozen city employees, including nine police officers, were left without payment for their work in July.
"It would have to come out of my account if somebody pushed it," Klakken said. "It was kind of implied that it was only the city council, but no, anybody can just go to district court and say, 'This guy broke the law, and I want you to make him pay.' That's all it takes."
However, following Friday's city council meeting, those paychecks have finally been handed out, as the council approved a proposal to borrow $250,000 from Dillon's Water Research & Development department to use for the general fund.
That loan from Water R&D, whose account currently houses about $1.5 million for repairing water lines, will have to be paid back, including interest.
Despite the temporary fix, many remain concerned about the general fund's long-term health, such as Dillon Chief of Police Joel Stewart, who wants to avoid a repeat situation in future months.
"My officers do a fantastic job, and they put their lives on the line for their community every day," Stewart said. "It isn't something that you would expect, working in an entity like this, that you're not going to get paid at the end of the month."
Stewart, who was one of the nine officers to receive his July paycheck on Friday, noted that the police department is one of few unions in Dillon that cannot strike if held without pay.
"My confidence is that the city will do the correct thing and make sure their officers are always paid," Stewart said. "However, it was never something in the back of anybody's mind before this. How can it not be in the back of your mind now when Christmas is a couple months away? Many of the officers have young families, and they don't know if they're going to be affording Christmas presents."
According to Klakken, the loan from Water R&D should keep the general fund sustained until the city collects its quarterly tax money of approximately $180,000 from the state at the start of October. He hopes that he and the city council can draft proposals for a lasting solution to the general fund budget issue in the meantime.