 As the evening progressed, discussions about a new ordinance
regarding sewer backflow stop valves as well as a discussion on
controlling city spending led to some debate and at times became
slightly heated as aldermen struggled to determine how they can best
serve the city of Lincoln.
New purchasing policy proposed
Alderman Buzz Busby, who co-chairs the finance committee with
Alderwoman Melody Anderson, passed out a document that outlined a
new policy he wants put into place immediately to help control
spending by city department heads.
He said that time and time again department heads have been told
to stop spending money, and they don't seem to be heeding the
warning, so something has to be done.
"We've asked for six months that you not spend any money that
isn't absolutely necessary, and we can't get anybody to listen.
You're all spending money," he said.
Busby had noted that currently the general fund has a total
shortfall of $252,000. He said that the only thing that was keeping
cash in the bank was the funds that are designated for specific
projects such as road repair. He noted that once those projects are
completed and the money paid out, there would be a serious problem.
Busby also commented that the fire department budget is already
exceeding the amounts it should be by this time in the budget year
in accrued overtime. He referred to their budget as a disaster,
saying that they were at 47 percent of their budget in accumulated
overtime.
His proposal is that any single purchase exceeding $100 shall be
approved by two members of the finance committee and that the names
of those members should appear on the purchase order of the product.
Alderwoman Marty Neitzel questioned whether this policy included
overtime as it had been referred to by Busby.
Busby said that he thought the chair of the fire committee, who
is Alderwoman Kathy Horn, should discuss the overtime issues with
the fire chief.
Alderwoman Joni Tibbs spoke up, saying that Assistant Chief Steve
Dahm was present and perhaps he could shed some light on
the situation. Before he spoke, though, she went on to say that she
listens to the scanner and knows there are times when multiple
things are going on that the fire department has to respond to. She
noted emergency calls, saying that these are things that cannot be
controlled, yet they are the services that are expected by the
taxpayers of the city.
Busby noted that perhaps one answer would be to stop the
emergency calls. He was referring to the fact that the city fire
department responds to calls involving the Logan County Paramedics,
and he said, "Just let the EMTs do it."
Dahm did speak out, saying that when he began with the fire
department 23 years ago, they ran on seven-man shifts. He noted that
the city had let people go and there had also been resignations or
retirements from the department without any new hires replacing
them.
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He went on to explain that today shifts are six men, but to
balance and allow for time off, there are generally only four in the
station at a time. He noted that if even one calls in sick, then
there are only three firefighters available for a call.
He implied that three firefighters were not enough to fight a
fire and that the only option was to call in more people, which
equated to overtime.
He concluded by saying that when placing blame for the overtime,
blame should go to the fire department, but also to the city.
Anderson said that she had discussed the accrued overtime with
fire Chief Kent Hulett about a week ago and that he was comfortable
that he wasn't going to exceed the annual budget.
She also noted that accrued overtime and overtime are two
different things and located in two different places in the budget.
She said the actual overtime that is paid out is at 16 percent of
the budget, and that is in line with where it should be for the
year.
She also noted that accrued overtime is time that is banked for
the firefighter and may or may not be used this year. Busby
countered that it is still a debt to the city and that the
firefighters can use this banked time any time they wish. He noted
that if they all decided they wanted it this year, it would be a
huge problem.
Neitzel drew on the comment about the $252,000 shortfall and
asked if the deficit would be corrected once the city does the new
general obligation bond. Busby said that yes, a portion of the money
that will come from the bond will cover the deficit.
Moving on, Busby said he had noted that the city clerk's
staff has a new printer in their office. He wondered whether or not
that had been a necessary purchase.
City Clerk Denise Martinek said there had been no purchase
involved. The printer used by City Hall is leased under an office
equipment contract. She said the contract includes a maintenance and
service agreement. When the company brought in the new machine, it
ended up actually saving the city money in those agreements.
The proposed change in policy will be on the Monday night voting
agenda.
[By NILA SMITH]
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