Title
Communication from the Mayor relative to the FY2017 budget
Dear Council:
I write in response to those items you requested as modifications to the proposed budget. In the spirit of working together, I have amended the budget to include the following modifications voted on at last week's City Council meeting:
1. Addition of $7,776 - Grant Funded Nurse
We are all hopeful that the grant will be renewed to allow us to retain this position. Therefore, funding this important role short-term while we await word on the grant is both prudent and reasonable.
2. Addition of $25,000 - City Clerk Salaries
With Karen Anderson's impending retirement, providing for the opportunity to cross train her replacement makes sense to ensure a smooth transition. We would only add that should Karen's replacement be hired from within that we try to take advantage of that as much as possible to minimize the actual use of these additional funds.
3. Movement of $51,000 from HR Salaries to HR Operating
We understand the concern with filling this position as an employee versus utilizing outside contractors as we currently do. I am comfortable moving forward with retaining these services the same way we have in the past except that it be managed within HR.
4. Movement of $83,799.41 from Permits Inspections and Planning Services (PIPS) Salaries to Mayor's Salaries
We had proposed moving Kevin Duffy to the PIPs department because we felt that bringing together what he does with what PIPs does would improve the customer experience and provide needed depth within PIPs. However, we understand from the dialogue that there was a desire to learn more before agreeing to such a move and as such we agree with moving the funds back to the Mayor's Office for the time being.
In order to account for the two initiatives that involve additional funding, the following updates have been made to the budget:
* The Snow and Ice deficit account was updated to reflect a more accurate fig...
Click here for full text