Proposed city budget cuts would eliminate 11 positions

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Fewer library hours, decreased parking enforcement, slower snow removal and taller grass on city property are just a few of the service changes that Newton residents could see under budget cuts proposed Monday evening. Newton city department heads presented options for dealing with a roughly $800,000 budget shortfall the city will see in the upcoming fiscal year. Interim City Administrator Tom Wardlow previously instructed each department to illustrate for city council what 8 percent cuts would look like. The group put together options recommending $737,569 in cuts and revenue enhancements that would include losing 11 positions and cutting some hours for other employees. In all, the proposal includes eliminating three police positions, three fire positions, three public works positions, two part-time library positions and reducing parks department full-time employees to 38 hours a week. Wardlow indicated that the city would seek to use attrition wherever possible for the job cuts, including upcoming retirements in police and fire that could help meet the need. In the police department, Wardlow sought to eliminate $157,132 from the budget. He presented an option to eliminate one officer, likely through retirement, and abolish the city’s parking enforcement division. Without parking enforcement, the city likely would have to use patrol officers to check meters and would respond to three-hour violations on a complaint basis. Investigations could take longer, too, with reduced staff. City Public Works Director David Stewart was looking to cut $206,000 from his department’s budget. He presented an option to cut three positions, including a part time cemetery staff member, an engineering tech and a streets division equipment operator. He also proposed eliminating the city’s mosquito dunk program, cutting sidewalk repairs, capping asphalt and concrete repairs at $85,000, eliminating cleaning for public works building, cutting storm sewer repairs budget by $10,000 and pursuing early retirements within the department. Stewart said snow removal in particular could be strained, with the department already running the lowest number of employees after layoffs in 2005 and dealing with some of the heaviest snowfalls on record in recent months. “We’re already pushing guys in terms of hours worked in a shift,” Stewart said, indicating Newton may have to look at other options. “Some towns don’t plow for snow events under four inches on residential streets. We may need to consider that.” Stewart also offered several options for added revenue including converting the city’s solid waste and recycling to an enterprise fund and adding the cost of administrative support to the fees charged. Increased cemetery fees and upping the fees for spring clean-up to cover the equipment and fuel costs could add $31,000 and $36,000 respectively. Stewart also noted that the department could eliminate one of the two administrative assistants in the public works building, but that would mean less interaction with the public could occur. Fire Chief Ed Clements sought about $146,000 in cuts from his department and recommending losing three positions through attrition with three possible retirements in 2009: one in March, another in April and a third next October. Clements would lose a utility position and two crew members, but said he would rotate other firefighters such as the fire marshal onto shiftwork to maintain 7-man crews on duty. “I feel that if we went down to six-man crews with two crews going to six-man that there would be delays (to some emergency calls),” he said. City Attorney Darrin Hamilton went through his budget to cut $8,840 and found that he’d have to eliminate necessary items like a phone for his office. Making such cuts he said would make the legal department “not sustainable.” His second option was eliminating the city’s legal department entirely, though he noted such a move could cost the city $80,000 in fine revenue and would require the city to contract out for legal services. Community Development Director Bryan Friedman sought to reduce his budget by $19,000 and advocated a combination of cuts and fund transfers. He cut census promotion for the 2010 census in half to $8,000 and recommends allocating $40,000 from the city’s Prairie Fire TIF district to pay salaries of community development staff who work on issues within that district. Director of Administrative Services, Candy Van Zee suggested cutting roughly $31,000 from her budget, exempting election expenses, costs for the city audit and network services from the cuts. She proposed 8 percent cuts for RSVP, Aces Teen Center and the municipal band rather than cutting those services entirely. She cut the city’s $7,500 for fireworks, but Wardlow indicated that private funding may be able to pick up the balance to ensure the fireworks continue as usual. The city would only publish its newsletter to the Web to save $9,500 and could obtain reimbursements from the water department for use of staff time and the city’s postage machine. Library Director Sue Padilla suggested an option cutting two part time circulation clerks, eliminating $4,000 and $2,000 from the city’s books and periodicals purchase funds and having the library cleaned only five days a week instead of six. The cuts mean the library would have to reduce its hours from 60 to 51 hours a week, enough to retain the library’s accreditation with the state. She said the library board had not indicated a preference on which hours it would cut. “There may be a day or two when we’re not as clean as we’d like be,” she said. “There will be times when the desks are not fully staffed.” Parks Director Denny Slings offered a different approach to cuts. Rather than cutting positions entirely, he recommended cutting the hours of his full time employees to 38 hours a week, something he indicated his staff was agreeable to, rather than cutting a position entirely. “I’m very proud of them,” he said. “They all agree they would rather see a reduction in their hours rather than lose another full-time position. We believe we can make this work for us.” Slings also proposed cutting some hours for part-time workers in the parks department and at the Maytag Pool, along with cuts to some parks supplies like marking dust for the fields, field drying compounds, basketball nets, seeds and fertilizers. With decreased part time staff hours, more areas of the park system to be designated as “no mow” areas. Newton City Council took the information and said little about recommendations, though Council member Jim Plumb indicated he’d like to see cuts higher up in city departments. “I think we need to look a little at the management side on reductions,” he said. “I know nobody likes to hear that.” Council agreed to consider the options and will meet again on Feb. 9 at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers.

Andy Karr can be contacted at 792-3121 ext. 434 or via e-mail at akarr@newtondailynews.com.