Department heads present tentative budgets at special joint committee meeting
NORWICH – The City of Norwich Public Safety, Public Works, and Finance and Personnel Committees, met at a special meeting Tuesday night to hear 2018 budget presentations from the different department heads of the city.
Department heads from Department of Public Works, Youth Bureau, Emergency Management Office, Code Enforcement, Human Resources, and Finance Department presented budgets at the special meeting, with the Police Department and Fire Department's presentations waived until an additional meeting on Wednesday, November 2.
DPW
DPW Superintendent Carl Ivarson presented a tentative budget to the committees similar to the department's 2017 budget. Alderman Ward 1 asked why the waste water line was increasing four percent.
Ivarson said, "To cover expenses, you've got two big expenses down there: one is phosphate, one is nitrogen. It takes a lot of chemicals. You also have a personnel increase."
Alderman Ward 4 Walter Schermerhorn noted that the department's utility costs are down.
Youth Bureau
Youth Bureau Director Robert Mason presented the bureau's budget, attributing the budget's increase to minimum wage increase and added hours to the recreation coordinator.
Mason said there's $20,525 in total revenue expected, which is 23 percent of the budget coming back to the city, not including the grants Mason writes, this year totalling over $6,700.
Caldwell asked Mason who he gets the grants from, to which he replied the R.C. Smith Foundation, among others.
Caldwell commended Mason on the bureau's participation of youth in the community.
EMO
The City's Emergency Management Officer Director A. Wesley Jones offered a similar budget to this year's, with a plan to purchase a dual-band radio and its battery over the next two years.
Jones said the radio is more than the office's annual equipment budget, but would do everything the EMO manages in the city with one radio.
Jones also noted that the EMO's computer server is from 2006 and is on its last leg, but the county will be picking up the expenses and taking care of it.
Code Enforcement
Code Enforcement Officer Jason Lawrence presented a budget that generated discussion regarding revenue garnered from residential inspections.
Lawrence said revenue for next year is expected to increase, and Mayor Christine Carnrike said they need to be careful because revenue today in 2017 is $2,549 less than revenue in 2016, yet the budget is expecting revenue to fall seven percent higher than this time in 2016.
"I always like to look at the revenue line and make sure they are projected accurately, or conservatively would be the better term," said Carnrike.
Human Resources
Director of Human Resources Deborah DeForest said that while the department's biggest increase is due to labor attorney and arbitration, it's actually a pretty conservative estimate considering contracts expiring in 2018.
Caldwell asked if they are spending a lot on liability tests, and DeForest said, "We do it for liability so there's not question that someone was fit for duty. We test if someone backs into a lightpole."
Caldwell asked if this was required by law, DeForest said no, the city goes above and beyond on liability, and it doesn't happen frequently.
Another topic of discussion was a new personal identification machine that would cost $6,000. It was decided that the city would look into if the Codes Enforcement's identification machine would suffice.
Finance
City Clerk/Director of Finance Dee DuFour presented on the Finance Department's budget, and the majority of dialogue would take place between DuFour and Caldwell regarding base salaries being included in the budget.
DuFour said the budget would include positions and their respective salaries, and Caldwell said he wants his resident to be able to look at the budget and the city's contracts to do the math and find out what the base salary for an employee is.
DuFour said, "Base salaries don't show up in the budget. When you're paying someone, they aren't just making their base salary; they're making longevity, shift differential, all their other things are being paid through the personal services account."
Schermerhorn and DeForest said they could see where Caldwell was coming from, but they agreed with DuFour.
Caldwell said, "When people look for basic information, we should provide it. I think people need to see what base salaries are, and I'll leave it at that."
Department heads from Department of Public Works, Youth Bureau, Emergency Management Office, Code Enforcement, Human Resources, and Finance Department presented budgets at the special meeting, with the Police Department and Fire Department's presentations waived until an additional meeting on Wednesday, November 2.
DPW
DPW Superintendent Carl Ivarson presented a tentative budget to the committees similar to the department's 2017 budget. Alderman Ward 1 asked why the waste water line was increasing four percent.
Ivarson said, "To cover expenses, you've got two big expenses down there: one is phosphate, one is nitrogen. It takes a lot of chemicals. You also have a personnel increase."
Alderman Ward 4 Walter Schermerhorn noted that the department's utility costs are down.
Youth Bureau
Youth Bureau Director Robert Mason presented the bureau's budget, attributing the budget's increase to minimum wage increase and added hours to the recreation coordinator.
Mason said there's $20,525 in total revenue expected, which is 23 percent of the budget coming back to the city, not including the grants Mason writes, this year totalling over $6,700.
Caldwell asked Mason who he gets the grants from, to which he replied the R.C. Smith Foundation, among others.
Caldwell commended Mason on the bureau's participation of youth in the community.
EMO
The City's Emergency Management Officer Director A. Wesley Jones offered a similar budget to this year's, with a plan to purchase a dual-band radio and its battery over the next two years.
Jones said the radio is more than the office's annual equipment budget, but would do everything the EMO manages in the city with one radio.
Jones also noted that the EMO's computer server is from 2006 and is on its last leg, but the county will be picking up the expenses and taking care of it.
Code Enforcement
Code Enforcement Officer Jason Lawrence presented a budget that generated discussion regarding revenue garnered from residential inspections.
Lawrence said revenue for next year is expected to increase, and Mayor Christine Carnrike said they need to be careful because revenue today in 2017 is $2,549 less than revenue in 2016, yet the budget is expecting revenue to fall seven percent higher than this time in 2016.
"I always like to look at the revenue line and make sure they are projected accurately, or conservatively would be the better term," said Carnrike.
Human Resources
Director of Human Resources Deborah DeForest said that while the department's biggest increase is due to labor attorney and arbitration, it's actually a pretty conservative estimate considering contracts expiring in 2018.
Caldwell asked if they are spending a lot on liability tests, and DeForest said, "We do it for liability so there's not question that someone was fit for duty. We test if someone backs into a lightpole."
Caldwell asked if this was required by law, DeForest said no, the city goes above and beyond on liability, and it doesn't happen frequently.
Another topic of discussion was a new personal identification machine that would cost $6,000. It was decided that the city would look into if the Codes Enforcement's identification machine would suffice.
Finance
City Clerk/Director of Finance Dee DuFour presented on the Finance Department's budget, and the majority of dialogue would take place between DuFour and Caldwell regarding base salaries being included in the budget.
DuFour said the budget would include positions and their respective salaries, and Caldwell said he wants his resident to be able to look at the budget and the city's contracts to do the math and find out what the base salary for an employee is.
DuFour said, "Base salaries don't show up in the budget. When you're paying someone, they aren't just making their base salary; they're making longevity, shift differential, all their other things are being paid through the personal services account."
Schermerhorn and DeForest said they could see where Caldwell was coming from, but they agreed with DuFour.
Caldwell said, "When people look for basic information, we should provide it. I think people need to see what base salaries are, and I'll leave it at that."
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