 Some of the most notable discussions that took place involved the
building and safety office, the fire department, and the police
department.Building and safety officer and zoning office
Alderwoman Melody Anderson said that for the building and safety
office she did figure in an increase for part-time wages.
"We feel that is justified because that department has been
bringing in revenue that we've not seen in the past," Anderson said.
Alderman David Wilmert asked about the money for software
upgrades that John Lebegue, building and safety officer, had talked
about at the last meeting.
Anderson said she couldn't find money for it in the budget, but
it can go into appropriations and be taken out of the general
obligation bond.
Fire department
In fire Chief Mark Miller's original budget request, he had asked
to give a promotion to assistant fire chief and hire one new
firefighter.
Anderson said she is keeping that request in the budget for the
chief.
She indicated recent policy changes in how and when accrued
overtime would be paid out are already paying off.
"We are down in that line by $35,000," she said. "It is cut in
half already and may be lower by the end of April. We don't know."
She said the budgeted figure for overtime was probably
overstated, but if it were to be an unusual year, with a large fire
occurrence or numerous fires, there has to be money in the budget to
cover it.
Miller was in the gallery and had a few new items to report to
the council.
There is a 20-year-old pumper truck that is falling apart. The
truck has had a number of electrical issues, mainly due to
corrosion, Miller said. A lot of work has been done on the truck,
but the problems are becoming more complicated and it may be time to
replace the vehicle.
Miller said he was looking at an expense of about $300,000 if he
purchased a used or demo vehicle. He noted a new truck would run in
the range of $500,000. Miller said he'd prefer to buy a demo truck
because it would still be titled as a new vehicle with warranty, but
the cost would be significantly less.
He also said the older of the city's two ladder trucks had just
failed an aerial inspection. He had no clue what it was going to
cost to fix the truck. As is, it can no longer be used as a ladder
truck but can still function as a pumper.
Alderwoman Marty Neitzel asked if a truck purchase could go into
the general obligation bond. Anderson said it could, but she asked
Miller if there were any zero-interest loans available right now.
Miller said that at the moment the state hasn't released any
information on such loans. He said if they were available, he would
gladly do the work to get it. He noted the loans usually run in the
range of $250,000, so there would still be a need for funding from
the general obligation bond.
Anderson said she wasn't worried about whether or not to replace
or repair the ladder truck. The city purchased a brand-new ladder
truck in 2009, giving the department a total of two. Anderson said
the department had operated with only one ladder truck without issue
prior to that, and she felt they could do so again.
Referring to replacing the old pumper, Anderson said: "The bad
news is it is not going to go in this budget. We may add it to
appropriations if we can get a zero-interest loan."
Anderson said the budget increases for the fire department are
minimal. However, union negotiations have not yet begun.
She said information on the consumer price index had been
provided by the county and it stands at 1.7 percent. This index is
generally used to figure cost of living for employee raises.
Anderson said that based on the price index, if the cost of living
comes out to be a 2 percent increase, it will add approximately
$44,000 to the bottom-line budget.
Anderson asked Miller: "If we have to cut, where do you want it?"
Miller said he is trying to get some fire safety grants and
exploring other resources, but right now he doesn't know how he can
cut much more. He indicated he has his budget at bare bones.
Neitzel asked if there were any laws that said the fire
department had to go out with the paramedics. Miller said he didn't
know that there was a law, but there is an agreement that the fire
department works with EMS in a tiered system.
Miller said an ambulance is not available a lot of times, so the
fire department is taking up the slack. He also noted that the Logan
County Paramedics are working to add a third ambulance to their
fleet, and work is being done with dispatch to provide more
information in the calls so that they are more specific to the fire
department.
Alderman Tom O'Donohue commented, saying: "You're not just
picking up the slack. You are going on every call."
Miller said that at this time, yes, they are.
Alderwoman Stacy Bacon spoke up, saying that she believes the
fire department rescue squad offers a valuable service that should
not be cut or reduced
"If anyone has ever experienced having an ambulance called to
their house, a lot of times the rescue squad is there before the
ambulance."
Alderman David Armbrust noted the same: "On my end of the town,
because of Friendship Manor, we see the fire department go past and
it beats the ambulance by several minutes."
He also noted that he'd been on the west side of town Saturday
and saw the ambulance arrive at Cracker Barrel before the fire
department.
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Armbrust then said: "I want to bring up a subject that is sore
with everybody. I don't think we need to take a fire truck to the
grocery store. We have two pickup trucks, and I have questions on
that cost.
"I'll share a conversation I've had with Chief Miller," she said.
"As part of this whole transition with not accruing overtime and
trying to limit overtime, it is going to be made very clear when the
budget is done and negotiations are done that we are monitoring
overtime in this department.
"And if we get a third of the way through the year or halfway
through the year and we're exceeding our budget line, there will
have to be changes made with regards to calling in the next shift
and how they are covering the station.
"And," she continued, "we've had some conversations that there
are some policies that were implemented but not in the contract that
the fire committee needs to address with regards to the minimum
manning and leaving the station unattended.
"Right now it feels like there is a big reluctance to leave the
station unmanned even for a short time, and that may have to come to
an end. We have to be prepared to dig in and say that policy is
going to change."
Anderson also said that she agreed with Bacon regarding rescue
calls.
"But," she said, "we are going to have to be more selective on
what those runs are. It is just the realistic aspect of you have got
to pay for it."
Police department
Anderson said that in his original request, police Chief Ken
Greenslate had asked to add two new officers to the force. She said
she had talked to him about this, and he said he would be thrilled
to have one. She is leaving one new hire in his budget.
Anderson said one large increase in Greenslate's budget was not
of his doing. This year Brenda McCabe was moved from the city
clerk's office to the police department. McCabe is a veteran
employee whose wages and fringes are higher than the person she
replaced in that department.
Greenslate had also asked for three used vehicles at $54,000.
Anderson said she didn't know how critical those purchases were.
Mayor Keith Snyder said a part of the idea of going with three
used instead of two new was to add a car into the rotation so that
vehicles could be parked on occasion. He said the city squad cars
are now basically on the road 24/7.
The purchase of vehicles could be taken from the general
obligation bond, which is not included in the revenue amount
previously discussed, so if the cars are purchased, they could come
out of those funds without hurting the police budget.
At the end of the Saturday morning session, Anderson said she
planned to continue working on the budget figures, and the council
would have a hard copy next week.
Neitzel asked if it was possible that the city is going to be
"OK" this year, and Anderson responded: "Anything is possible."
Follow-up
At the Tuesday evening workshop meeting, Anderson drew a chuckle
from the council when she said she was still fine-tuning the budget
figures and had gone through one entire bottle of white-out already.
She asked for a special meeting for April 12 to begin one hour
before the regular workshop session.
She plans to have a hard copy the council can review then. If the
document meets with approval, the passing of the 2011-12 budget will
be placed on the April 18 voting agenda.
[By NILA SMITH]
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