City Council Pores Over 2017 Budget Plan
August 16, 2016 at 4:51 p.m.
City Council Pores Over 2017 Budget Plan
By David [email protected]
All department heads presented their proposed 2017 budgets to the Warsaw City Council Monday night during a three-hour meeting. The grand total of all of next year’s proposed budgets is $29,566,224, an increase of about $1.6 million over the 2016 proposed total budget of $27,954,694.
Department heads were told to budget employee salary and wages at a 2 percent increase for next year, though that could change by the time council addresses the salary ordinance. The wage and salary committee is planning to meet again now that the council has had its first budget discussions.
Beeler’s street department general fund for 2017 is $4,224,241, up 14 percent over 2016’s proposed budget of $3,694,441.
“One thing that kind of hit us hard this year, that we’re having to prepare for, is with Zika issues. We have been spraying a lot this year. For a 30-gallon container, it’s just about $7,000 for 30 gallons. Previous two years, I went through that 30 gallons in a two-year period. This year, in three months, I went through that same amount. So it’s going to be an expensive year, but we’re trying to keep that under control the best we can,” Beeler said.
Not knowing what next year will bring, he’s requesting additional funding for next year.
“It’s a very expensive process we do, but we’re trying to keep that under control,” he said.
Zika is spread mostly by the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito, according to the Centers for Disease Control. These mosquitoes are aggressive daytime biters. They can also bite at night. Zika can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus. Infection during pregnancy can cause certain birth defects. There is no vaccine or medicine for Zika.
Council President Mike Klondaris asked if there was any federal money available for that.
Beeler replied, “The state received federal money to help fight Zika. They have not decided yet to pass that money along. They’d like to use the money to study it, which everyone else also is doing, rather than help fight it. At this point, we’re on our own.”
The next “big item that threw the whole thing out of whack,”?Beeler said, is the replacement of traffic signal heads.
“We have about 17, I believe, traffic signals in Warsaw at the intersections. Out of those 17, 14 intersections need to be replaced. They are no longer able to be updated. They’re past their time. If you go downtown especially and see where they used to hang all the banners and Christmas lights across, the poles are bent. They can’t be straightened. The bases are cracked. They went through a few years back trying to repair the bases, but they’re beyond the point of having it taken care of,” Beeler said.
Fixing each intersection will cost $150,000 and there’s 14 of them, which Beeler said needs to be done now, but it can’t be because of the expense.
He said the goal is to do two intersections a year and have them all fixed in seven years, “if they last that long.” One next year will be paid out of his department’s general fund, the other will be paid out of the Motor Vehicle Highway fund.
He said if they don’t move in this direction, the city won’t have working traffic signals.
As for the other three “good, working” intersections of the 17, updates were made. Those are by Walgreen’s and Long John Silver’s and are the newest three intersections. He said they added battery backups to those.
The other two budgets Beeler presented were MVH, $727,000; and Local Roads and Streets, $125,000.
Airport Manager Nick King presented two budgets, though the Aviation Depreciation Fund for 2017 has a budget of $0 as the airport has no capital project plans lined up for next year. He did indicate the airport was saving money for some big projects in 2018.
The Aviation General Fund was proposed at $795,357, an increase of less than $30,000 over the 2016 proposed amount of $756,780.
Parks & Recreation Superintendent Larry Plummer also had two budgets for the council to consider.
The Parks & Recreation Fund he presented as $2,328,399 for 2017, an increase of about 7 percent compared to the proposed total of $2,160,117 for 2016.
In that budget is $12,000 for the new shelter construction at the proposed Center Street trail head where Center and Market streets meet, and $25,000 for land acquisition for the trailhead. The trail head was part of the city’s Stellar Communities plan, though Warsaw was not named a Stellar Community Thursday. Also in the budget there is $10,000 for Pete Thorn Center light replacement to LED, phase 1; $10,000 for park hours of operation sign replacement; $20,000 for Central Park marquee replacement to high definition; $30,000 for paving of the Nye Youth Cabin parking lot; $40,000 for Rarick Park playground equipment replacement; $40,000 to replace a 1952 Ferguson tractor; $40,000 for a new pickup truck; and $40,000 for a water feature at Kerr Park, which also was part of the Stellar Communities plan.
The other budget Plummer presented was the Park Non-Reverting Fund, proposed at $14,650, the same as 2016. The fund is generated from fees collected through some park programs.
City Planner Jeremy Skinner presented his Building & Planning Department’s budget as well as budgets for six Tax Increment Finance districts.
His department’s proposed 2017 budget is $666,543, which is $359 less than the 2016 budget of $666,902. The other budgets he presented for next year were: Redevelopment General, $171,925; Warsaw Technology Park, $167,000; Redevelopment Allocation, $411,050; Redevelopment Northern TIF, $3,537,662; Redevelopment/TIF Winona Interurban, $5,000; and Redevelopment Eastern TIF, $200,000.
Police Chief Scott Whitaker presented the general budget for Warsaw Police Department totaling $4,777,900. The budget includes $30,000 for phase 3 of asphalt maintenance and repair at the East Fort Wayne Street police department. Whitaker said his department will be replacing two cars at $30,000 each, but one car will be purchased from the Law Continuing Education revenue account and one from the general police budget. Equipment for the two cars will cost about $13,000.
The Law Continuing Education budget was presented for 2017 at $41,000. The budget is supported through court fees, a portion of tickets, accident reports and handgun licenses.
Whitaker ended his presentation with the Police Pension Fund, which is set statutorily.?It’s set at $313,623 for 2017.
The Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory is preparing for the opening of fire station 3 in the next couple of years. Fire Chief Mike Wilson presented a Fire Territory Operating Fund of $4,615,056 for 2017, an increase of about $500,000 over 2016’s proposed budget of $4,096,808. The Fire Territory Replacement Fund was presented at $760,913, while the Fire Pension Fund was set as $293,229.
Oakwood Cemetery sexton Hal Heagy presented his cemetery budget at $670,055, and the cemetery’s permanent fund at $106,500, as discussed at the Aug. 4 cemetery board meeting.
Jennifer Whitaker, human resources director, presented her human resources budget at $200,128.
Clerk-Treasurer Lynne Christiansen presented four budgets: her department budget, $167,543; Local Option Income Tax special distribution, $230,000; general bond, $433,625; and cumulative capital improvement, $50,000.
Mayor Joe Thallemer presented his office’s proposed budget for 2017 as $149,697, up 2.13 percent over 2016’s proposed $146,572.
Having gone through the city council’s budget with Council President Mike Klondaris, Thallemer presented the council’s 2017 budget as $1,133,128, up 3 percent from the proposed 2016 budget of $1,104,564.
Other miscellaneous budgets presented were: Economic Development Income Tax, $1,475,000; Riverboat Fund, $150,000; and cumulative capital development fund, $625,000.
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All department heads presented their proposed 2017 budgets to the Warsaw City Council Monday night during a three-hour meeting. The grand total of all of next year’s proposed budgets is $29,566,224, an increase of about $1.6 million over the 2016 proposed total budget of $27,954,694.
Department heads were told to budget employee salary and wages at a 2 percent increase for next year, though that could change by the time council addresses the salary ordinance. The wage and salary committee is planning to meet again now that the council has had its first budget discussions.
Beeler’s street department general fund for 2017 is $4,224,241, up 14 percent over 2016’s proposed budget of $3,694,441.
“One thing that kind of hit us hard this year, that we’re having to prepare for, is with Zika issues. We have been spraying a lot this year. For a 30-gallon container, it’s just about $7,000 for 30 gallons. Previous two years, I went through that 30 gallons in a two-year period. This year, in three months, I went through that same amount. So it’s going to be an expensive year, but we’re trying to keep that under control the best we can,” Beeler said.
Not knowing what next year will bring, he’s requesting additional funding for next year.
“It’s a very expensive process we do, but we’re trying to keep that under control,” he said.
Zika is spread mostly by the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito, according to the Centers for Disease Control. These mosquitoes are aggressive daytime biters. They can also bite at night. Zika can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus. Infection during pregnancy can cause certain birth defects. There is no vaccine or medicine for Zika.
Council President Mike Klondaris asked if there was any federal money available for that.
Beeler replied, “The state received federal money to help fight Zika. They have not decided yet to pass that money along. They’d like to use the money to study it, which everyone else also is doing, rather than help fight it. At this point, we’re on our own.”
The next “big item that threw the whole thing out of whack,”?Beeler said, is the replacement of traffic signal heads.
“We have about 17, I believe, traffic signals in Warsaw at the intersections. Out of those 17, 14 intersections need to be replaced. They are no longer able to be updated. They’re past their time. If you go downtown especially and see where they used to hang all the banners and Christmas lights across, the poles are bent. They can’t be straightened. The bases are cracked. They went through a few years back trying to repair the bases, but they’re beyond the point of having it taken care of,” Beeler said.
Fixing each intersection will cost $150,000 and there’s 14 of them, which Beeler said needs to be done now, but it can’t be because of the expense.
He said the goal is to do two intersections a year and have them all fixed in seven years, “if they last that long.” One next year will be paid out of his department’s general fund, the other will be paid out of the Motor Vehicle Highway fund.
He said if they don’t move in this direction, the city won’t have working traffic signals.
As for the other three “good, working” intersections of the 17, updates were made. Those are by Walgreen’s and Long John Silver’s and are the newest three intersections. He said they added battery backups to those.
The other two budgets Beeler presented were MVH, $727,000; and Local Roads and Streets, $125,000.
Airport Manager Nick King presented two budgets, though the Aviation Depreciation Fund for 2017 has a budget of $0 as the airport has no capital project plans lined up for next year. He did indicate the airport was saving money for some big projects in 2018.
The Aviation General Fund was proposed at $795,357, an increase of less than $30,000 over the 2016 proposed amount of $756,780.
Parks & Recreation Superintendent Larry Plummer also had two budgets for the council to consider.
The Parks & Recreation Fund he presented as $2,328,399 for 2017, an increase of about 7 percent compared to the proposed total of $2,160,117 for 2016.
In that budget is $12,000 for the new shelter construction at the proposed Center Street trail head where Center and Market streets meet, and $25,000 for land acquisition for the trailhead. The trail head was part of the city’s Stellar Communities plan, though Warsaw was not named a Stellar Community Thursday. Also in the budget there is $10,000 for Pete Thorn Center light replacement to LED, phase 1; $10,000 for park hours of operation sign replacement; $20,000 for Central Park marquee replacement to high definition; $30,000 for paving of the Nye Youth Cabin parking lot; $40,000 for Rarick Park playground equipment replacement; $40,000 to replace a 1952 Ferguson tractor; $40,000 for a new pickup truck; and $40,000 for a water feature at Kerr Park, which also was part of the Stellar Communities plan.
The other budget Plummer presented was the Park Non-Reverting Fund, proposed at $14,650, the same as 2016. The fund is generated from fees collected through some park programs.
City Planner Jeremy Skinner presented his Building & Planning Department’s budget as well as budgets for six Tax Increment Finance districts.
His department’s proposed 2017 budget is $666,543, which is $359 less than the 2016 budget of $666,902. The other budgets he presented for next year were: Redevelopment General, $171,925; Warsaw Technology Park, $167,000; Redevelopment Allocation, $411,050; Redevelopment Northern TIF, $3,537,662; Redevelopment/TIF Winona Interurban, $5,000; and Redevelopment Eastern TIF, $200,000.
Police Chief Scott Whitaker presented the general budget for Warsaw Police Department totaling $4,777,900. The budget includes $30,000 for phase 3 of asphalt maintenance and repair at the East Fort Wayne Street police department. Whitaker said his department will be replacing two cars at $30,000 each, but one car will be purchased from the Law Continuing Education revenue account and one from the general police budget. Equipment for the two cars will cost about $13,000.
The Law Continuing Education budget was presented for 2017 at $41,000. The budget is supported through court fees, a portion of tickets, accident reports and handgun licenses.
Whitaker ended his presentation with the Police Pension Fund, which is set statutorily.?It’s set at $313,623 for 2017.
The Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory is preparing for the opening of fire station 3 in the next couple of years. Fire Chief Mike Wilson presented a Fire Territory Operating Fund of $4,615,056 for 2017, an increase of about $500,000 over 2016’s proposed budget of $4,096,808. The Fire Territory Replacement Fund was presented at $760,913, while the Fire Pension Fund was set as $293,229.
Oakwood Cemetery sexton Hal Heagy presented his cemetery budget at $670,055, and the cemetery’s permanent fund at $106,500, as discussed at the Aug. 4 cemetery board meeting.
Jennifer Whitaker, human resources director, presented her human resources budget at $200,128.
Clerk-Treasurer Lynne Christiansen presented four budgets: her department budget, $167,543; Local Option Income Tax special distribution, $230,000; general bond, $433,625; and cumulative capital improvement, $50,000.
Mayor Joe Thallemer presented his office’s proposed budget for 2017 as $149,697, up 2.13 percent over 2016’s proposed $146,572.
Having gone through the city council’s budget with Council President Mike Klondaris, Thallemer presented the council’s 2017 budget as $1,133,128, up 3 percent from the proposed 2016 budget of $1,104,564.
Other miscellaneous budgets presented were: Economic Development Income Tax, $1,475,000; Riverboat Fund, $150,000; and cumulative capital development fund, $625,000.
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