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Council reviews budget lines, moves to formalize part-time employee policy change
Summary
Council discussed next year's budget—fire department equipment, roads, lights and parks improvements—and agreed staff should revise the employee policy to remove vacation/benefits for part-time hires and return the change for approval.
At the meeting, council members reviewed multiple budget lines and asked staff to prepare adjustments for the next fiscal year. The group directed Kendra to revise the employee policy language to make explicit that part-time hires (about 15 hours per week) will not receive vacation or other benefits and to return the revised policy for formal approval.
Karen Caldwell reported the fire department is budgeting for a 5-inch hose for a new engine estimated at $10,000–$12,000 and is pursuing donated asphalt for the bays; PR Paving provided an installation bid of about $7,000–$8,000 if the material is donated. Council members clarified that the asphalt donation would cover material but that installation costs are a building-budget item.
Members discussed Class C road work where the approved scope and timing prompted confusion: some members said only grading was approved, while others said the approved scope for some sites included road base and grading. Contractors have encouraged combining nearby repairs into a single mobilization to avoid repeated setup costs, which prompted discussion of budgeting a full repair across two fiscal years.
Council also reviewed utilities and parks: members cited roughly 2,000–2,500 streetlights and noted recurring streetlight charges near $22,000 per month; Anne Whitaker said she is researching multi-use playground equipment to benefit children with special needs, and council discussed low-cost additions such as frisbee golf and replacing/prioritizing soccer practice nets.
Procedural matters on payroll and checks were handled later in the meeting, where the council approved wages and vendor checks and confirmed required dual signatures for several items.
Next steps: Kendra and finance staff will adjust budget line items (building permits, sewer cleaning, streetlights, and capital-project lists) and circulate the capital plan and updated figures to council ahead of the next meeting.
