Albany, Oregon
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Albany is a city in Benton [1] and Linn [2] counties in Oregon. It is the eleventh largest city as of 2010 census[3] in Oregon, and is the county seat of Linn county. Albany is largely a farming and manufacturing based city. Settlers founded the community in 1848,[4] as of the 2000 census, the city population rested at 40,852[5] with 91.68% of the population being White. The population has since increased to an estimated population of 50,158 with 87.8% being White as of the 2010 US Census.[6]
Albany has a home rule charter and is a Council-Manager management style to the municipality where the full time unelected City Manager administers the day-to-day operations and affairs of the city for the Council and is the administrative head of the city.[4] On top of having a large farming and manufacturing base the city largely depends on Retail trade, Health care & social assistance to drive its economic structure.[7]
Website evaluation
In 2011, the Albany earned a Sunny Award for having a perfect website transparency score.
This Web site was most recently reviewed 2013-01-31.
- Main article: Evaluation of Oregon city websites
The good
- Budget
- The most current budget is listed.
- Budgets are archived for 8 years.[8]
- Administrative Officials
- Department heads are listed for each department.[9]
- Contact information for administrative officials is provided including a mailing address, phone number, and personalized email.
- Elected Officials
- Elected officials are listed with a mailing address, phone number and personalized email.[10]
- Meetings
- Meeting minutes are archived for 10 years.
- Meeting agendas are archived for 10 years.
- A meeting calendar is available and names the times and locations of public meetings.
- Meeting video is available.[11]
- Audits
- The most recent audit is posted.
- Audits dating back to 2003 are available.[12]
- Contracts
- Bids and RFPs are posted online.
- Approved contract statements are provided for vendors.[13]
- Public Records
- The public information officer is identified and maintained by the city clerk. This person provides a mailing address, phone number and personalized email.
- A public records form is provided.
- A fee schedule for documents is provided.[14]
- Taxes
- Tax revenues are broken down by federal, state, and local funding in the budget.[15]
- Local taxes, like property taxes, are available online.
- Residents are able to pay taxes online.
- Lobbying
- The city discloses it's a member of government sector lobbying associations and membership dues for associations available.[16]
- Permits and zoning
Elected Officials
Albany has a home rule charter and a city manager management style to the municipality where the full time unelected City Manager administers the day-to-day operations and affairs at the pleasure of an elected mayor and six-person city council. The mayor is elected every two years and council members, who represent the three geographic wards of the city, are elected in overlapping 4-year terms.
Salaries and Pensions
Council and Mayor also recieve $50 per month for internet access at home. Salaries are also published in the Annual Budget [19] in the Executive Summary section which lists all positions salaries. Council members do not receive pensions.
Administrative Officials
The City Manager's Office oversees general administration of the City of Albany and provides support to the City Council and to City departments. Some key administrative tasks include carrying out the Council's policies, preparing the City budget, directing the City's daily operations, coordinating departments, and informing the Council.[20] The City Manager is appointed by the City Council and serves at their pleasure.
The current city manager is Wes Hare.[20]
Salaries and Pensions
The City Manager salary is published in the Annual Budget [19] in the Executive Summary section along with all positions in the city.
Current Salary Schedules for all positions are available on the city website.
Spending
Lobbying
The city does not use a lobbying firm for general lobbying activities.[21]
Albany lists all memberships in organizations on it's web page, not just those that might be involved in lobbying. The city, or city staff, belongs to 80 professional organizations or agencies that are used to keep abreast of information relating to the area of interest of the organization and/or to maintain professional certifications of staff. The organizations may engage in advocacy for or against legislation or issues pending before governmental agencies. The total reported dues to organizations in FY2012 was $125,287. The top association dues in FY2012 were:[21]
| Organization | City Entity | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Cascades West Council of Governments |
City-Wide | $45,587 |
| League of Oregon Cities | City-Wide | $32,369 |
| ICMA Center for Performance Measurement |
City Manager | $5,500 |
| National League of Cities | City Wide | $3,813 |
| International City/County Management Association |
City Manager | $2,057 |
| Albany Chamber of Commerce | City-Wide | $1,750 |
| Albany Rifle & Pistol Club | Police | $1,674 |
External links
- City of Albany official website
- City of Albany official website - Transparency links page
- Official Oregon State Website
References
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ [,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linn_County,_Oregon]
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 history
- ↑ census
- ↑ See custom Excel table 2010 population
- ↑ economy data
- ↑ City of Albany, Budgets, Accessed: January 6, 2013
- ↑ City of Albany, Staff Directory, Accessed: January 6, 2013
- ↑ City of Albany, Elected Officials, Accessed: January 6, 2013
- ↑ City of Albany, Meetings, Accessed: January 6, 2013
- ↑ City of Albany, Audits, Accessed: January 6, 2013
- ↑ City of Albany, Bids and RFPs, Accessed: January 6, 2013
- ↑ City of Albany, Request Form with Fee Schedule and Contact Information, Accessed: January 6, 2013
- ↑ City of Albany, Tax Revenues, Accessed: January 6, 2013
- ↑ City of Albany, Lobbying, Accessed: January 6, 2013
- ↑ City of Albany, Zoning, Accessed: January 6, 2013
- ↑ City of Albany, Building Permit, Accessed: January 6, 2013
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 'City of Albany', Finance Department
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 [3]
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 [4]
