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Budget adds library wage correction, Mitchell Hollow grant and several capital updates; splash-pad cameras removed
Summary
Staff reinserted a library wage correction and transfer, added a MAG-funded Mitchell Hollow Trail project, included the MAG portion of 4800 West widening, proposed use of impact fees for the 11200 North connection, and removed splash-pad cameras from parks capital.
Council received several discrete budget updates affecting the library, parks and capital projects.
Erin (staff member) explained a wage correction for the library director that brings her salary up to market for the next fiscal year but is not retroactive. Donna (library director) clarified she had chosen not to pursue past increases; staff said the adjustment is intended to fund the position equitably going forward. The budget includes a one-time transfer of about $11,000 from the general fund to the library fund; staff described that transfer as a partial repayment for prior vehicle-property-tax collections that had not been credited to the library fund.
On parks and capital, staff added the Mitchell Hollow Trail project to the Parks Capital Improvement Fund with MAG grant funding, and reported a MAG-funded phase for 4800 West widening (the MAG share was shown as about $5.4 million with Alpine contributing about $140,000; Highland's remaining share was not fully broken out in the discussion). Staff also proposed using less than half of approximately $700,000 in Rhodes impact fees to support the 11200 North Connection project; staff said the amount shown is for design and initial construction estimates and does not include potential land purchases.
Seasonal employee hours were added to help maintain the bike park; staff characterized the city contribution as augmenting volunteer efforts rather than supplanting them. The council removed splash-pad camera funding from the parks capital budget, a $75,000 reduction, after council members expressed concerns about privacy, unclear benefit, and priority.
Staff also added a $110,000 first-year cost for a work-order and asset-management software system (implementation and first-year maintenance) with an ongoing $45,000 annual maintenance cost to be split across administration, parks, streets, cemetery and utilities. David framed the software as improving resident service requests and response-time tracking.
Ending: The council accepted the changes for inclusion in the tentative budget and asked staff to provide more precise cost shares for MAG projects and impact-fee uses before final adoption.
