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Budget workshop: council trims transit contingency, grapples with rising ambulance costs and funds bridge design work; considers shared communications position
Summary
Council adjusted the draft budget after a transit-operator sale reduced a contingency, discussed a proposed AMR ambulance contract with significant cost increases and the need for a 180-day exit clause, approved seeking congressional appropriations for bridge design work, and advanced plans for a shared city-school communications position funded partly by franchise fees.
Council spent the bulk of the meeting on the draft fiscal plan and related capital items, revising levy assumptions and discussing several high-cost service contracts.
Staff said the transit operator sale removed the need for a previously budgeted $25,000 contingency, allowing the transit levy projection to be reduced and bringing that fund’s balance roughly in line with last year. “We’ve had some exciting new developments with the transit service,” Tyler said, adding that the new owner would train with current staff through June and that a contract renewal would be brought to the council for approval.
A prominent budget question centered on the city’s ambulance contract. Staff reported that AMR’s proposed three-year renewal included substantial increases that could lift the city’s payments notably by year three. Council members warned against conceding the city’s 180-day termination option and discussed whether housing costs for AMR staff and intergovernmental reimbursements (hospital, county) had been correctly accounted for. Members also discussed the long-term fiscal difficulty of funding rising ambulance costs and whether a local alternative service or different procurement could reduce expenses.
Council also reviewed capital needs: an updated estimate for SCBA and other public-safety equipment, a planned engine replacement and body-camera costs that staff said could be financed over five years. Staff described trimming noncritical replacements and short-term borrowing for major items to keep the levy essentially unchanged.
On infrastructure planning, staff presented roughly $1 million for Main Street bridge design work and said they would submit a congressional appropriations request to fund plans so the city is shovel-ready if construction dollars become available. Council directed staff to gather letters of support and file the application before the week’s Friday deadline.
Finally, council discussed creating a shared communications position split with the local school district. The proposal would fund salary and benefits partly from franchise-fee revenue; the school could cover a larger share of salary but cannot levy for benefits, so the city would levy for and fund benefits. Staff and council discussed governance for hiring and timing; staff will draft a memorandum of agreement and job posting language.
Council members said they were comfortable with the revised levy 'version three' that keeps the overall tax rate largely steady while funding key capital needs and recommended staff return with final ordinance language and any needed resolutions.
