New Mayor Troughton: Williams in good shape [Colusa County Sun-Herald, Calif.]

Dec. 30--A gas station is looking to locate near Taco Bell in Williams.

A senior housing development also could break ground in 2012, and there are plans for a learning center under the umbrella of the Colusa County Office of Education that could join the Woodland Community College campus already there.

All of that, plus the hopes for a truck stop and other job-creating industries, would make the future of Williams much brighter.

"Actually, Williams is in pretty good shape right now," said new Mayor John Troughton Jr., who has just started his fourth year on the City Council. It is his first term as mayor.

But Troughton thinks one vital piece of planning needs to be addressed in the new year -- and that is the long-term financing of the city.

"Over the next 10 years, we should be working on getting rid of some long-term debt," said Troughton, who also served as the elected county sheriff for two terms starting in 1974.

The city has a 30-year, no-interest $11 million loan to pay off on its new wastewater treatment plant, is paying on a 1996 loan for new water mains and staring at incurring more debt to develop water needs.

"We are right at the end of our water, and if we want to attract industry ... we will need water," Troughton said. "So we are going to put in a well and a tank, so that is more debt," the mayor added. "It won't be as much as the wastewater treatment plant, but it will be substantial."

Troughton said the preliminary figure is about $1.5 million, but he suspects that it will be much higher.

"And we can't keep raising rates on people to pay for these things. We have to come up with a different solution," the mayor said. Also looming are the costs of upgrading the older parts of town on the west side of Interstate 5.

"The old town, on the west side, is no spring chicken," Troughton said. Improving the streets alone, he said, is going to be a major undertaking.

That raises a pet peeve of Troughton's: the county transit service, which he believes is wholly inefficient, and eats up revenues that could go to streets.

"It is already circulating that I want to get rid of transit," the mayor said. "Well, I can't get rid of transit, and I don't want to get rid of transit. But I do want to make it more cost efficient, and some of the money you save there can go toward streets."

So Troughton has proposed holding a number of council workshops and town hall meetings to address long-term financing for the city.

When the first meeting would be held has not been determined.

Troughton said he has already started preliminary discussions with City Administrator Chuck Bergson and Finance Director Rex Greenbaum.

"But I want to hold workshops with the council so we can talk to the people of Williams about what the costs are going to be and what the finances of Williams are going to be," Troughton said.

"And like I said, Williams is in pretty good shape, but we need to do some pretty serious financial planning."

Troughton said people like to talk about the quality of life, which includes the new and successful recreation programs, and the upgrades to parks and the various events held around town.

But in the end, the mayor said, the City Council is responsible for the essentials.

"So when you turn on the water, good water comes out; when you flush the toilet, it does what it is supposed to do; and when you drive your car down the street, your tires stay on your car because the roads are in good shape," the mayor said.

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(c)2011 the Colusa County Sun-Herald (Colusa, Calif.)

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