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Public Services director: 5.1% cut would be about $978,086; deeper cuts to street funds carry larger impacts
Summary
Mark Riley, director of Public Services, told the Budget and Finance Committee that a 5.1% general-fund reduction for DPS equals about $978,086; larger proposed reductions in restricted street and parking funds would have bigger impacts on preventive maintenance, green-space mowing and parking services.
Mark Riley, director of Public Services, presented the department’s budget, described recent operational improvements (shorter bulk‑collection response times, a new crack‑seal machine), and warned that proposed reductions would affect preventive maintenance and service levels across several funds.
Riley said the department has lost more than 125 FTEs over the last decade while keeping its core services. He gave a dollar figure for the general‑fund scenario: "a 5.1 budget reduction for DPS that's adds up to $978,086¢ I mean, $978,086," and said that would affect trash collections, green‑space maintenance and other services. Riley also said a 15% reduction in the street construction/maintenance fund (301) would total nearly $2.5 million and the parking meter fund scenario (30%) would be roughly $1.6 million, and described specific program cuts under those scenarios (eliminating mowing at some intersections, reducing dead-animal collection and graffiti abatement, and shifting in‑house sign fabrication to third parties).
Riley and his staff described technology and process improvements underway — a telematics/GPS program for fleet and routing, improved routing for corner‑can/collection work and a focus on preventive street maintenance rather than reactive pothole patching. Those changes, he said, are intended to stretch existing resources but cannot fully substitute for staff or capital shortfalls.
Finance staff told the committee that a city weather reserve exists to cover one‑time emergency costs (for example, a severe winter), but council members asked DPS to return with more detail about reserve use and precise financial impacts before final budget decisions.
The committee filed the presentations and adjourned without votes at this meeting.
