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Parks staff will request an added full-time position in FY27 amid maintenance strain
Summary
Parks staff told the board they will request one additional full-time position in the FY27 budget because current staffing is making it difficult to maintain parks to prior standards while meeting services mandated by the Board of Aldermen.
Eric Marshall, a parks department staff member, told the Kearney Park Board that staff are beginning FY27 budget preparations and will request an additional full-time position. Marshall said the department is finding it difficult to maintain parks and park spaces to the same standard as in the past while also providing the basic services required by the Board of Aldermen.
Marshall linked staffing pressures to routine and seasonal maintenance tasks the department manages: winterizing park restrooms after Nov. 1 (except heated pickleball restrooms), locking Lions Park restrooms after the downtown trick-or-treat event on Oct. 31, and coordinating irrigation winterization by IDL. Those operational demands were cited as part of the rationale for the staffing request.
Board members did not take formal action on the budget request at the Oct. 21 meeting; Marshall said staff are preparing the FY27 request and will make the formal submission through the city budget process. The request for an additional full-time position would require approval through the city's budget adoption process.
