When we read social media posts, it may not be obvious that no one has vetted the credibility of the statements. Randy Kugler has been posting long, rambling posts on overhead cost allocation in Manzanita for a long time. I have suspected that he is a bit green-eyed about how well the city operates without his assistance, but my comments below are about his credibility in writing these posts, not his motivation.
As part of his latest harangue, Kugler trotted out a “survey” (see March 28, BBQ) to support his ongoing attack on standard accounting practices. Apart from the survey’s credibility, there’s the issue of his past behavior as Philomath city manager. During that time, Kugler regularly transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars from that city’s water, sewer, street, and urban renewal funds to the general fund to underwrite administrative costs. In fact, the amounts Kugler transferred into the general fund over many years to cover what he called “Administrative Overhead” always exceeded the cost of administration. For example, for the 2010-11 budget, Kugler asked the Philomath City Council to transfer $248,964 from the four funds mentioned above to the general fund to cover administrative overhead. In that same budget, Kugler proposed to spend only $227,930 for administration and planning, an overpayment of $21,034. If you’re curious, the City of Philomath has its historical budgets online.
After profiting for years from the overhead cost accounting method he established at Philomath, Kugler now wants to restrict Manzanita’s ability to cover its overhead costs. We could ponder his motivations, but the question remains: Is Kugler a credible messenger?
I urge our city council to ignore Kugler’s social media noise. I hope citizens review what he says with a skeptical eye.
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