City Looks to Trim 2013 Budget, Approves 2013 Salary Ordinance
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
Warsaw City Council is considering trimming next year's budget by a half a million dollars.
The council reviewed the budget during its meeting Thursday night.
The city is scheduled to approve the budget at its Oct. 15 meeting. It is proposed at $25,027,268.
The city council is looking to make approximately a half million dollars in budget cuts for 2013, Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer said Thursday night.
Thallemer said he returned this week from the annual conference of the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns.
During Thursday’s meeting he said the overall increase for the medical trust was only 7.5 percent. With the changes the city had already made in the health coverage plan, the most the city will see is a 4.5 percent increase.
“That will save about a quarter of a million dollars from what we had budgeted,” Thallemer said. “We may actually end up paying less than we did last year.”
Increased health care costs was a big concern for the city, which budgeted for a 15-percent increase.
The council is still looking to trim the overall bottom line and agreed that at least one area where that would be possible would be in the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory operating fund.
Mike Brubaker, Warsaw fire chief, said he is asking to hire three full-time firefighters each year for the next three years.
The additional nine fire fighters would be used to staff Warsaw Fire Station 3 that will be built at the southwest corner of County Farm Road and CR 200S.
Brubaker said his budget includes approximately $130,000 for three firefighters to be hired in 2013.
The council, however, was in agreement that since Station 3 is not expected to be built for at least another two years, that they would approve the hiring of one full-time firefighter next year.
That individual would be hired to step in when one of the current firemen moves to the position of training officer.
City council members will submit to Elaine Call, council president, their suggestions for reductions to the 2013 budget before the Oct. 15 council meeting.
Department heads will review their budget and also make recommendations to the council on areas that should not be trimmed. Thallemer asked the council if they had concerns on the 2013 budget.
Jerry Frush, councilman, said he did not feel there needs to be $65,000 appropriated to lower power lines for a runway extension at Warsaw Municipal Airport.
Charlie Smith, councilman who serves as a non-voting member on the Warsaw Board of Aviation Commissioners, said the project will be 90 percent paid for with federal funds, 5 percent with state monies, and 5 percent from the local government.
Call said she trusted the airport board’s judgement on their need to lower the power lines.
The council approved a 2013 salary ordinance for department heads Thursday night.
Maximum bi-weekly salaries were approved. The aviation manager salary was approved at $1,974.99; building and planning engineer, $2,600; city planner, $2,080.98; cemetery sexton, $1,930.18; clerk-treasurer, $1,727.85; human resources director, $1,939.56; mayor secretary, $1,584.59; parks and recreation superintendent, $2,136.43; police chief, $2,182.01; street superintendent, $2,379.61; wastewater utility manager, $2,464.86; and fire chief, $2,182.01.
The bi-weekly salaries for the mayor are $2,445.30 and clerk-treasurer salary is $2,080.26.
