Mayor wants to add employees in planning, finance and parks

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Mayor wants to add employees in planning, finance and parks

Friday, November 9, 2012

WENATCHEE — Just three months after Mayor Frank Kuntz cut two firefighters, three police employees and nearly all the museum staff to save money, he is proposing a 2013 budget that hires new employees in other departments.

Kuntz gave City Council members on Thursday a preview of the budget he will unveil next week. With just over $20 million in general fund expenditures, the budget would add full-time employees in the planning department and finance department and three part-time parks employees.

“We’re starting to rebuild a little bit,” he said.

He said the city’s financial picture has changed since mid-year, when he made cuts in order to trim more than $1 million from the budget. He initially proposed laying off eight firefighters, three police officers and a records clerk and four of the five museum employees. He ultimately settled on a plan that included one layoff and two retirements in the police department, two retirements and a job share in the fire department and the loss of the four museum employees.

Since then, the Town Toyota Center debt was refinanced in September, and the city will no longer be paying large sums in legal bills and debt payments.

Kuntz said the job cuts were still necessary.

Kuntz said the city has been in need of a new employee in the finance department since the finance director resigned more than a year ago. Deanna McDaniel was recently promoted to the director position, and her position will be backfilled with a new hire next year.

He said the planning department also needs someone to oversee grants so that Monica Libbey can go back to being a planner.

He added that the parks department has gone without part-time maintenance workers for three years, “and our parks show it.”

“With all of these hires we’re just trying to do essential government work,” he said.

If the city’s financial situation continues to improve in the coming years, Kuntz said he will ask the City Council to consider hiring back more employees in the street, planning and maintenance departments. If police officers agree to pay more for their medical benefits, he may also recommend hiring more officers.

But he said he believes the fire department is still overstaffed by one person. He hopes to achieve one more reduction in that department, but said he will wait for a retirement or resignation.

He said the 2013 budget is about the same as the adjusted 2012 budget after his staff cuts. He is also estimating sales tax revenues very conservatively, he said, “so I don’t have to do what I had to do this year again.”

Michelle McNiel: 664-7152

mcniel@wenatcheeworld.com

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lonedog3 7 months, 1 week ago

He needs to start "rebuilding a little bit" in the public safety sector not in his office. Rebuild the fire dep as well as the streets FIRST. Hopefully the rest of the city council will just say no to to this.

karilg 7 months, 1 week ago

He has NO clue what he is doing! One term mayor with decisions like this!

JimboBear 7 months, 1 week ago

Not my call since I don't live in town but it sure doesn't look like Mr. Kuntz learns too much from history and public opinion. I think his priorities are a bit mixed up.

karilg 7 months, 1 week ago

I think you called it right!

Beacherboy 7 months, 1 week ago

Wow, once again we see public safety taking the hit.

WallaceF 7 months, 1 week ago

When can we get a city manager, who knows what the priorities of a city are? I am tired of having the same strong mayor process that allows one man to try to fulfill his own agenda and grind the same "fire" axe. Let's get a professional in here that listens to his people and has studied what cities priorities are and knows the definition of "essential government work".

Also:

Why do we need another finance guy when we elected an accountant for $80,000 a year?
Why can't we use inmate crews to do some of the parks maintenance? The mayor complained about the high cost of providing care for the inmates. Why not put them to work?
The fire chief isn't any better at pickleball than he is at preserving the integrity of his department. The mayor is beating the heck out of both of them.

douglas 7 months, 1 week ago

Wallace..... ....it is my understanding that inmate crews are not as inexpensive as they were before. In years past, the county used to pay both the crew's wages (minimal) and that of the supervisor(s) and cost of transportation. Now a days, the entity that requests the crews has to pick up that cost.

loves2travel 7 months, 1 week ago

You would still think it's less expensive to have them (inmates) do it when you figure in wages, medical/dental insurance and retirement costs of the city employees.

WallaceF 7 months, 1 week ago

Agree with loves2travel. If I had to pay the neighbor kid all of those benefits to do "park maintenance" on my yard I would go broke. Also, can't you charge/fine the inmates for their days in jail and create a zero balance?

dryside 7 months, 1 week ago

One thing that would help the Parks look better is letting the people who maintain them design them. Let Wal-Mart mow around their sign, fill in that little grass strip that runs along, whatever the street is that runs along the waterfront. Planning and engineering are a major problem in mataining parks. Let the people who have to maintain them have more say, I'm sure they would look better. They City shouldn't bite off more than they can chew.

Dudleydoright 7 months, 1 week ago

Is it possible to have jail inmates doing much of this work? I bet they would like to be outside, and they could pay their debt to society in a small way that would benifit the public they offended.

WallaceF 7 months, 1 week ago

Google it. Lots of places across the country use inmates to work. One example I found wrote, "labor also assists county public works in many other arenas, including road maintenance, cleaning and maintenance of parks and assistance at vehicle maintenance facilities". What a concept. Our politician figure out all kinds of ways to charge us more and give us less, but let's see some of this kind of thinking take hold around here.

Dudleydoright 7 months, 1 week ago

Unions would no doubt pitch a fit. A town in Florida, as I recall elected a mayor, a woman, who eliminated just about every public employee and contracted out for BIG savings. Once you eliminate unions, all sorts of waste is eliminated. The results were lower costs and better service. Here, we just voted for socialised medicine, Brilliant.

dryside 7 months, 1 week ago

I can speek from experience, you need someone to supervise the inmates. Govermental agencies cut corners on maintenance and repair. They know if a facility breaks down they can get emergency funding to replace it. I'm not opposed to using inmates, or even welfare recipients, but you need to budget for supervisors, tools, ect. I could see contracting out. School district could contract out a lot of things.

WallaceF 7 months, 1 week ago

Dudley...regarding unions. I know that the firefighters just spent their weekend collecting funds for MDA and they collect for burn victims and they conceeded wages and insurance to save positions in their department. Tell me one individual that you know that has done as much for charity or employment. I am not a big union backer, but you need to give credit where credit is due. These folks have done more than their part in this economy. What have you done Prospector?