Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks And Recreation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board questions parks and stormwater allocations, police share and YMCA contract
Summary
Aldermen probed Tammy’s shift of administrative salaries into parks/stormwater, the allocation of police-contract costs to parks (one dedicated officer plus ~10% of the contract), a $1.4M YMCA contract and a projected drop in restricted park sales-tax revenues to $2.8M in 2025.
Discussion of parks and stormwater occupied a substantial portion of the budget review. Tammy explained she allocated 25% of the city administrator and clerk salaries to parks, 50% of the public-works director and 70% of certain technician salaries to the stormwater/park fund per a January 2024 committee approval. Those reallocations raised the parks and stormwater operating totals compared with historical presentations.
Tammy reported parks/stormwater sales-tax revenue historically around $4.9 million and projected a decline to roughly $2.8 million in 2025 after allocations and planned transfers. She said parks program fee revenue was modeled from anticipated offerings (pickleball, softball, youth programs) and flagged a restricted $419,000 payment from the YMCA currently set aside for capital but not yet recognized as budgeted revenue.
Aldermen asked why the parks share of the police contract is set at one dedicated officer and vehicle ($133,006.55) plus 10% of the total contract; Tammy said that approach follows past practice but welcomed consultation with the police chief to reassess whether the parks allocation remains appropriate given actual patrol patterns. The board also discussed a $200,000 allocation for completed pickleball courts and a $500,000 Ward 1 playground project listed in capital.
Members identified several inconsistencies — a typographical $55,000 error for 2024 youth instructional programs and an apparent under-projection of parks amenities maintenance for 2025 — and Tammy committed to correct the typo, review seasonal-worker chargebacks and return with adjusted figures at the December committee meeting.
