One thing discussed at the Kenai 2014 dipnet work session that went well was the new fund management changes implemented this year.
Terry Eubank said this was the first year where the personal use fishery was done in it’s own fund.
Eubank: “Before the fishery was kind of buried in all the other departments, our street department, our parks and rec, our police, our fire, and they had to through memory go through and pull out the expenses so we could even compile a report, so by separating it out and putting it in its own fund we have much truer accounting, purer accounting and I think we have much better numbers.”
He said that now that that is a stand alone fund, Kenai administration would like to make sure the fund is self sustaining.
Eubank: “So in order to be self supporting year after year, the administration believes it should start to develop some set level of savings, I mean your household shouldn’t operate without a savings, one of these funds shouldn’t either. So that when we do have a lean year, fish are down, people don’t come and we’ve expended a tremendous amount of resources like we always do, we have those reserves to draw on.”
One idea was to set aside with $30-40,000 each year until the fund balance reaches $250,000.
Eubank said revenues were higher since the city eliminated the honor system of the self pay stations and operated fee stations 24 hours a day.
He attributed the higher expenditures to more restroom facilities and dumpsters used due to a longer average time people spent at the fishery because fish came in gradually instead of spiking at one time, as well as some signs and equipment for the newly implemented no wake zone.
