Though many residents were away during winter break, the Pullman City Council held its annual Town Hall meeting on Jan. 6 at City Hall.

“We had a good turnout,” City Supervisor John Sherman said. “We mainly talked about financial topics and regulations.” Pullman citizens and organizations were able to give feedback and offer ideas about issues affecting the city and surrounding areas in person and by phone, e-mail or fax.

Sherman said Mayor Glenn Johnson let the council decide which topics on the agenda to address at the meeting. The agenda covered a broad list of issues including health care, gambling laws and economic stimulus projects.

The 9th District state legislators and the mayors of Palouse, Garfield and Malden attended and discussed economic conditions.

Sherman said the mayors talked about disincorporating from Whitman County due to lack of funding.

“Smaller places are experiencing challenges financially because various regulations make it hard to remain a town,” he said.

At the meeting, the council postponed voting on the stormwater ordinance required for Pullman by the state Department of Ecology because two council members and City Attorney Laura McAloon were not present.

Council members decided to wait until Feb. 3 to discuss the ordinance and a new resolution created by Councilman Barney Waldrop, asking the state government to exempt Pullman from stormwater management regulations given the state of the economy.

The stormwater ordinance was rejected by the council in June and again with a split vote at the meeting Dec. 9. The ordinance outlines a utility fee for property owners and is estimated to cost the city about $1 million per year.

The Town Hall meeting also focused on statewide budget cuts in education. Sherman said the $10.4 million shortfall for WSU will hurt the local economy and smaller schools in the area are also at risk.

“I think it’s important we continue to invest heavily in research universities to help improve the economy,” he said.

Sherman said WSU made it possible for significant advancements in technology by corporations such as Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories and Decagon Devices, both located in Pullman.