On Friday, Feb 11th, the Mayor and City Council met with the City Administration to begin the process of developing the 2022-23 Budget that will be adopted and submitted to the State in June.
At this meeting, the Heads of the various departments presented to the Council budgetary items for their consideration— such as new equipment, personnel, and projects.
The Council and staff tentatively voted on the importance of these items and will be discussing them further in months to come.
Here are the major requests that were proposed:
Police Department:
1. 4 New Vehicles (About $65k each)—A few vehicles are regularly replaced each year. This way the cost is spread out over time, instead of needing to be replaced all at once.
2. Electronic License Plate Reader
Fire Department:
1. Increase the number of hours the EMT’s are available throughout the day: from 30 hours to 50 hours.
2. New Ladder Truck ($1.5 Million)—This is a large proposal, but the truck would be good for 20 years. In addition, this would lower the fire insurance costs of the residents’ homes. The City doesn’t currently have any Ladder Trucks, only Fire Engines, so this would improve the reach and effectiveness of the firefighters.
Public Works:
1. A full-time Electrician for the City ($90k)
2. New Equipment: Backhoe, street mower, lawnmowers, ball field groomer, tractor with rear bucket, bobcat, aerator for turf, arena groomer, forklift for shop, catwalk to safely clean big equipment.
3. New Snowplow ($220k)
Community Services Dept:
1. Lighting at Baseball fields—This would expand the useful time in a day of the fields.
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Several departments requested vehicles for transporting materials, equipment, or personnel to inspections and training.
Other requests will be reviewed in future editions as the Council reviews them.
Find the results of the City Council’s Vote on the Equipment herein discussed on Page 2, entitled: “City Council Equipment Budget Voting Results.”