York Mayor John Brenner's weeklong series of budget hearings began today with the Public Works department.
(Note: I incorrectly posted earlier that all of the budget hearings are at 1 p.m. Friday's public comment session is at 10 a.m. Sorry about that.)
The theme for today's hearing appeared to be "holding the line." Several department officials emphasized that they've tried to keep their 2010 budget requests about the same as 2009's budget.
Here are some of the highlights; we'll have a full story in the paper Sunday. Also, if budget documents aren't posted on the city Web site, I'll see if we can post them here.
None of the areas in public works - sewer maintenance, parks and recreation, environmental services, etc. - requested new employees for 2010. Brenner emphasized several times that positions have been cut in years past, leaving staff levels minimal.
Highway: Superintendent Al Hykes requested about $2,500 more than last year for materials for directional symbols, arrows, etc. on city streets. He also requested about $5,000 more than last year for the replacement of manholes, because many will have to be replaced before next year's phase of Rebuild York (the paving project).
(Note: I incorrectly posted earlier that all of the budget hearings are at 1 p.m. Friday's public comment session is at 10 a.m. Sorry about that.)
The theme for today's hearing appeared to be "holding the line." Several department officials emphasized that they've tried to keep their 2010 budget requests about the same as 2009's budget.
Here are some of the highlights; we'll have a full story in the paper Sunday. Also, if budget documents aren't posted on the city Web site, I'll see if we can post them here.
None of the areas in public works - sewer maintenance, parks and recreation, environmental services, etc. - requested new employees for 2010. Brenner emphasized several times that positions have been cut in years past, leaving staff levels minimal.
Highway: Superintendent Al Hykes requested about $2,500 more than last year for materials for directional symbols, arrows, etc. on city streets. He also requested about $5,000 more than last year for the replacement of manholes, because many will have to be replaced before next year's phase of Rebuild York (the paving project).
Jim Gross, public works director, told the mayor there had been much progress on roadwork in 2009, with the first phase of Rebuild York, plus paving of Roosevelt Avenue and 13 alleys. Hykes said he's working on the list of alleys to work on next year, so anyone with suggestions should tell the city. (C.S. Davidson completes an analysis of roads each year that guides work on the streets.)
Fleet: Hykes said he's budgeting for about $23,000 less for fuel next year _ $290,000 - predicting that fuel prices will continue to decline. The city gas pumps go through about 10,000 gallons of gas and 2,000 to 3,000 gallons of diesel each month.
Last year's approval of buying five new police cars paid off, Hykes said, because his crew didn't have to spend so much time working on them. "We were able to work on highway equipment for a change," he said.
Building Maintenance and Electrical: Superintendent Dave Rudolph said he wanted to keep the paint budget - about $3,500 - as high as possible to paint the bell tower on city hall and the gazebo at Farquhar Park next year.
Brenner said it might be worth looking into the efficiency and cost of the Gamewell system, fire call boxes placed around the city and in about 350 businesses. Rudolph said they spend a lot of time maintaining it.
Environmental Services: The city is expecting about $40,000 in a state grant for recycling for 2010, Gross said - but the city just got its 2007 grant. He believes the grant program is being phased out.
Tom Landis, superintendent of parks, recreation and sanitation, said one employee works each day cleaning up downtown. Brenner noted that cleaning up the trash and litter are "real costs" to the city and suggested that local organizations that spent "$75,000 to $100,000" to bring in a consultant could have paid to clean up downtown twice. He said the local business improvement district - aka Downtown Inc. - could help by giving an allocation toward cleanliness.
Rec and parks: Landis said he was able to raise $46,000 in 2009 for city parks and recreation, largely because the hiring of parks superintendent AJ Grim gave Landis more time to raise funds. He said he requested about $2,500 more for the city's 3-on-3 basketball tournament because sponsorships haven't been coming in like they used to.
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