Syracuse Discusses Budget, Dispatch, Trail System
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By John DeGroff-
The meeting also was a scheduled work session for council and department heads. The council anticipates another special meeting in July in order to further work out budget details. Municipal budgets must be approved by September, according to state law.[[In-content Ad]]Town Marshall Tony Ciriello reviewed dispatch policies and the number of calls received by the police department, EMS and fire department. Using figures from 2004, 2005 and 2006, Ciriello said the police department answered an average of 3,999 calls per year; EMS averaged 1,076; and the fire department handled 261 runs on average. These numbers work out to about 14.5 calls a day that are being dispatched out. Seventy-four and a half percent of calls are dispatched to the police department, with the remaining 25.5 percent being fire/EMS calls. According to Ciriello, these numbers are based on the work load of dispatchers.
A major concern of Ciriello is the dispatching system itself. The county repeater system that is being put up at the high school is for police department use, but is not yet fully operational. This is necessary for the department to have communication with Warsaw.
A similar system is proposed atop the new water town after it is built for use by the fire department.
Syracuse Fire Chief Mickey Scott expressed similar concerns regarding his department's use of the county repeater service for dispatching. While it was discussed that these problems could be a simple matter of too big a workload handled by too few dispatch staff on the county level, the overall issue of how this affects safety was raised.
According to Scott, local fire and EMS units feel safer using local dispatch rather than county, because the local is far more familiar with the community. It also was pointed out that the Syracuse dispatch system is sometimes used as a backup for Warsaw when the county system is down.
All of this was an introduction to the larger issue of how valuable the protection of fire and EMS service is to Syracuse and Turkey Creek Township, and who ultimately pays for this service. As it currently stands, in-town residents of Syracuse pay more for the service than do township residents. While a contract between Syracuse and the township is in place, the council said the eventual goal is a system by which the two parties share the cost of the service equally. The council said this will take some research and time to accomplish, and will not be done this budget cycle.
In other police matters, Ciriello presented the council with areas in which the department has the greatest needs. The police department would like to have a records management computer system, and has looked into possible grant money for this. Radios, light bars and other miscellaneous equipment will need replacement as it ages, and officer training is always an ongoing expense. Ciriello said the department's fuel budget likely will need to be increased.
Dave Lichtenauer, of the Park Foundation, presented the council with an overview of progress on the trails. The main concern as it affects the budget is the organization's desire to seek funds to complete the Ind. 13 segment of the trail. The Syracuse-Wawasee Trail System is regarded as a "work in progress" by the organization.
One portion of the trail that has received priority is the Pickwick corridor. This runs from Eli Lilly Road and Warner Road west along the south side of Cornelius road to Pickwick. It then proceeds along Pickwick, and ends at the Main Channel Bridge. It then will proceed further west, eventually crossing Ind. 13 into the village. The organization also has plans for trail segments around Northshore and Eastshore drives around Syracuse lake, and the completion of the connector in from Wawasee High School to West Pickwick.
Chad Jonsson, parks department, presented the council with needs for consideration in the next budget. Repairs to the Community Center, as well as regular maintenance, are ongoing needs, and plans for some expansion work also are considered. Jonsson said the parks department does have access to some Community Foundation money not allocated for repairs. It was suggested by the council that parks be held to the monies allocated under the current tax levy budget. The parks department will review this issue.
Town Manager Henry DeJulia presented a comprehensive plan to the council that included several items, all of which are only budgetary recommendations at this time. These include:
n Necessity for a meeting with township officials to discuss land usage.
n New development in Turkey Creek, outside of town limits.
n Require a common green space in development projects.
n Ordinances should be reviewed on a periodic basis and updated as needed.
n Research the possibility of a railroad spur for west side of town as an enticement for business.
n Continue work on trail location.
n Regarding infrastructure work with private utility developers; give consideration to extending water and sewer to development area; consideration of environmental concerns in developmental area.
n Razing abandoned wells and taking down the old water tower. Water tower could cost about $60,000 if work is done by local contractors.
n Long Drive - continued work on this, possible in 2009.
Development of a more orderly annexation policy, perhaps development of a residential tax abatement program. Needs to be in place by next budget.
n Reduction of the abundance of signs in the community.
n Possible new park at the end of Wildwood Drive.
n Wawasee Village - provide for shared parking, safe crosswalks and pedestrian safety.
n Develop a boundary for downtown revitalization.
n Possible development of low-income housing grants for home improvement.
n Upgrade public works building.
n Possible traffic light in front of high school.
n Research obtaining grants for the protection of lakes and wet lands.
DeJulia said all of this is only in the form of recommendations for now. However, the council did express interest in several of the proposals, and will continue to work on details in future monthly meetings and special budget meetings.
Syracuse Town Council members are Paul Stoelting, Brian Woody, Cassie Cowan, Bill Musser and Larry Siegel.
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The meeting also was a scheduled work session for council and department heads. The council anticipates another special meeting in July in order to further work out budget details. Municipal budgets must be approved by September, according to state law.[[In-content Ad]]Town Marshall Tony Ciriello reviewed dispatch policies and the number of calls received by the police department, EMS and fire department. Using figures from 2004, 2005 and 2006, Ciriello said the police department answered an average of 3,999 calls per year; EMS averaged 1,076; and the fire department handled 261 runs on average. These numbers work out to about 14.5 calls a day that are being dispatched out. Seventy-four and a half percent of calls are dispatched to the police department, with the remaining 25.5 percent being fire/EMS calls. According to Ciriello, these numbers are based on the work load of dispatchers.
A major concern of Ciriello is the dispatching system itself. The county repeater system that is being put up at the high school is for police department use, but is not yet fully operational. This is necessary for the department to have communication with Warsaw.
A similar system is proposed atop the new water town after it is built for use by the fire department.
Syracuse Fire Chief Mickey Scott expressed similar concerns regarding his department's use of the county repeater service for dispatching. While it was discussed that these problems could be a simple matter of too big a workload handled by too few dispatch staff on the county level, the overall issue of how this affects safety was raised.
According to Scott, local fire and EMS units feel safer using local dispatch rather than county, because the local is far more familiar with the community. It also was pointed out that the Syracuse dispatch system is sometimes used as a backup for Warsaw when the county system is down.
All of this was an introduction to the larger issue of how valuable the protection of fire and EMS service is to Syracuse and Turkey Creek Township, and who ultimately pays for this service. As it currently stands, in-town residents of Syracuse pay more for the service than do township residents. While a contract between Syracuse and the township is in place, the council said the eventual goal is a system by which the two parties share the cost of the service equally. The council said this will take some research and time to accomplish, and will not be done this budget cycle.
In other police matters, Ciriello presented the council with areas in which the department has the greatest needs. The police department would like to have a records management computer system, and has looked into possible grant money for this. Radios, light bars and other miscellaneous equipment will need replacement as it ages, and officer training is always an ongoing expense. Ciriello said the department's fuel budget likely will need to be increased.
Dave Lichtenauer, of the Park Foundation, presented the council with an overview of progress on the trails. The main concern as it affects the budget is the organization's desire to seek funds to complete the Ind. 13 segment of the trail. The Syracuse-Wawasee Trail System is regarded as a "work in progress" by the organization.
One portion of the trail that has received priority is the Pickwick corridor. This runs from Eli Lilly Road and Warner Road west along the south side of Cornelius road to Pickwick. It then proceeds along Pickwick, and ends at the Main Channel Bridge. It then will proceed further west, eventually crossing Ind. 13 into the village. The organization also has plans for trail segments around Northshore and Eastshore drives around Syracuse lake, and the completion of the connector in from Wawasee High School to West Pickwick.
Chad Jonsson, parks department, presented the council with needs for consideration in the next budget. Repairs to the Community Center, as well as regular maintenance, are ongoing needs, and plans for some expansion work also are considered. Jonsson said the parks department does have access to some Community Foundation money not allocated for repairs. It was suggested by the council that parks be held to the monies allocated under the current tax levy budget. The parks department will review this issue.
Town Manager Henry DeJulia presented a comprehensive plan to the council that included several items, all of which are only budgetary recommendations at this time. These include:
n Necessity for a meeting with township officials to discuss land usage.
n New development in Turkey Creek, outside of town limits.
n Require a common green space in development projects.
n Ordinances should be reviewed on a periodic basis and updated as needed.
n Research the possibility of a railroad spur for west side of town as an enticement for business.
n Continue work on trail location.
n Regarding infrastructure work with private utility developers; give consideration to extending water and sewer to development area; consideration of environmental concerns in developmental area.
n Razing abandoned wells and taking down the old water tower. Water tower could cost about $60,000 if work is done by local contractors.
n Long Drive - continued work on this, possible in 2009.
Development of a more orderly annexation policy, perhaps development of a residential tax abatement program. Needs to be in place by next budget.
n Reduction of the abundance of signs in the community.
n Possible new park at the end of Wildwood Drive.
n Wawasee Village - provide for shared parking, safe crosswalks and pedestrian safety.
n Develop a boundary for downtown revitalization.
n Possible development of low-income housing grants for home improvement.
n Upgrade public works building.
n Possible traffic light in front of high school.
n Research obtaining grants for the protection of lakes and wet lands.
DeJulia said all of this is only in the form of recommendations for now. However, the council did express interest in several of the proposals, and will continue to work on details in future monthly meetings and special budget meetings.
Syracuse Town Council members are Paul Stoelting, Brian Woody, Cassie Cowan, Bill Musser and Larry Siegel.
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