Bringing almost three decades of accounting experience and a corporate leadership background to office, newly elected Woodland Mayor Todd Dinehart envisions a transformative journey for Woodland.
Dinehart took office Jan. 1 after winning the seat last November. He thinks his knowledge of finances and his experience serving as a vice president for Pacificorp will serve him well in his new role.
“I have accounting, and then I have a little bit of [human relations]. Pull those two together, and it’s a new beginning for Woodland,” Dinehart said.
Dinehart said he had no interest in local politics until Woodland residents suggested he run.
“Neighbors and local residents [were] emailing me, calling me, hitting me up at the store, asking me to run, wanting new leadership,” Dinehart said. “It was one of those things at the last minute… Ten minutes before the deadline, I put my name [in] and away we go.”
Refilling positions
Dinehart’s first weeks in office have not been without challenges. He assumed office shortly after former Mayor Will Finn terminated a police lieutenant and two top city officials. As a result, Dinehart started his administration without a city administrator and public works director and two key vacancies to fill.
Dinehart said, while the mayor can fire staff without the city council’s approval, the council needs to approve new hires for those positions.
While Finn had claimed he let go of those staff members due to an incoming hostile work environment, Dinehart disagreed.
“It’s difficult to understand how an individual [would] say they care and appreciate the city, and then turn around and harm the city like they did,” Dinehart said.
Dinehart said filling those positions is a top priority. He is focusing his attention on the public works director position, first.
“That’s a position that we need. It’s key to our city,” he said. “The city administrator position I’m still reviewing, analyzing, meeting with individuals within the city. [We’re] trying to figure out what the best use of those funds are.”
Dinehart said that building trust in the community is another priority for him.
“The prior administration did what they did. It obviously hurts trust,” Dinehart said. “We have some great employees that work for the city, and I want our residents in our community to recognize that what somebody did is not a true reflection of our city government.”
Infrastructure and utilities
As far as infrastructure improvements, Dinehart is focused on development near Exit 21, the interchange that connects Woodland with Interstate 5. The interchange experiences heavy traffic during weekday peak traffic hours, according to the city’s website.
“We’re meeting with our outside consultant on that, [and] trying to get an updated project plan,” Dinehart said.
Dinehart also seeks to improve the city’s connection to state Route 503, on the south side of the city.
“We need to work and partner with the state to get … turn lanes for those intersections as we come through, primarily at Insel [Road],” Dinehart said. “We have it at Gun Club [Road], but we don’t have one at Insel, so that could be an improvement that we need to look into.”
He said he also wants to make sure Woodland is spending its money efficiently. One way to do that, he said, is to stop funding special projects.
“As we look at some of these items… the civic center, $600,000 project there, less than 1,200 square feet,” Dinehart said. “We don’t have a tenant to use it, so it’s one of those things. Why did we decide to build that [for] $600,000?”
The mayor said that by better prioritizing city spending, Woodland could benefit from improvements in infrastructure and utilities.
“If we can pay $600,000 to go build a building that is going to be sitting vacant, we certainly should be able to prioritize our dollars and put money towards infrastructure [and] put money towards improvements such as water, sewer, roads, that type of thing,” Dinehart said.
Dinehart expressed that, two weeks into office, one of his main objectives is to fully understand the financial aspect of the city’s utility spending.
“I need to get in, dig into the budget, understand where our actual spend is at, where our spend was last year, and figure out what we can do differently,” Dinehart said.
Dinehart said his first two weeks in office have been positive.
“We have wonderful employees. They all have a great passion for the city,” he noted. “They all care about it. They all want to do what’s right. They’re just looking for a leader to support them and to help them through the transition, so it’s been extremely pleasant and wonderful, meeting with them all and working with them all.”
Dinehart said what he loves the most about Woodland is the small-town atmosphere.
“It’s home,” he said. “I’ve raised two children here. My wife and I still live here. [We’re] part of the community. It’s home.”
