Monday, February 8, 2010
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A goal of bringing in the 2010 municipal budget with no tax increase for residents is no easy task, but that is what Mayor Bettina Bieri and the Township of West Milford Council are trying to do in a series of budget meetings now underway.
With Township Administrator Kevin Boyle’s current figure of a $100 tax increase for the owner of the average $135,000 home before them, governing board members on Jan. 26 took a hard look at proposed capital projects with an eye at eliminating some costs.
Township Engineer Richard McFadden and Department of Public Works (DPW) Supervisor Jerry Storms were at the meeting to review the proposed $4.3 million capital portion of the budget.
Officials left the meeting looking to eliminate about $1.5 million of that but will not make a final decision until they get more information to support such action.
Boyle’s goal is to have the individual department interviews with the council completed on March 15. With final governing board recommendations made by then, he said his "game plan" will be complete.
It must be kept in mind that council budget decisions have no effect on the school or county budgets. If the council reaches its goal of a zero increase budget, taxpayers still have to contend with the other two elements on their tax bill.
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Thursday, February 4, 2010
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MUSCATINE, Iowa - It's hard to predict the future, but Muscatine City Council is taking careful steps to be prepared for unfavorable circumstances.
One big problem? The possible loss of more than $90,000 from the Road Use Tax fund.
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver has proposed pulling more than $50 million from the Road Use Tax fund from counties and cities across the state to help fund the Iowa State Patrol budget, which would yank money from city and county budgets for public works and road maintenance.
The Muscatine City Council has denounced Culver's plans and is hoping to keep a hold of the money.
"We're not the only ones out there [losing the road money]," Muscatine City Administrator Gregg Mandsager said.
Public Works director Randy Hill said many projects, even as small as patching city roads, could be affected by the possible withdrawal of money. Finance Director Nancy Lueck said the outcome of the funds are uncertain until the governor's budget is complete.
Muscatine's roadway maintenance budget for 2010-11 is $1,264,300, which is $44,400 under the previous year's budget due to decreased allocation for capital outlay. The only
capital outlay listed for roadway maintenance is a new four-by-four backhoe, which will cost an estimated $135,500. Another $50,000 will be used for the grinding of old concrete and blacktop.
Street maintenance supervisor Randy Howell said the current backhoe is more than 20 years old and is costing more to maintain.
Hill also stressed interest in trail development. He said a trail committee will be approaching the City Council in the near future, and while grants are likely available for construction of trails, the design cost would be absorbed by the City.
An estimated $600,000 is currently being held for the Cedar Street project, which is expected to begin in 2011. Hill said the money, which is funded with federal Surface Transportation Project funds, is secure as long as headway continues to be made. Hill said updates and planning has been submitted to keep the funds place.
Hill added that sidewalks have been neglected over the years due to the loss of a sidewalk checks
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The groundhog may have given us bad odds, but the City of Kelowna’s street sweepers say they’re already clearing bike lanes the weather is so mild.
All projections the city’s snow crew have in front of them indicate it’s time to bring a second street sweeper onto local roads and begin the spring sweep shortly.
“The reason is, everybody is pushing this sustainability thing nowadays…People want to ride their bikes and we should provide that service,” said Gord Murrell, roadway operations supervisor.
One sweeper is already clearing roads and another will be up and running by the end of the week.
“It doesn’t cost any more money to the taxpayer,” Murrell said. “If we don’t sweep at all until, say, about March, it takes two to five passes to pick up all of the sand because of the buildup.”
Kelowna has only spent $74,000 on snow and icy removal since 2010 began, and this was largely only to deal with icy patches forming higher in the hills at night. In 2009, the municipality spent its entire $1.4 million snow clearing budget, but Murrell expects 2010 may provide a surplus to save for more costly seasons, like the last.
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Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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Monday, February 1, 2010
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WEST MILFORD — The Township Council is considering eliminating around $1.5 million in proposed capital projects in an effort to enact a zero-dollar municipal tax increase for 2010.
And the big-ticket items on that hit list include road resurfacing, a fire truck, and a street sweeper.
In total, the Council is reviewing $4.3 million in proposed capital projects, according to Township Administrator Kevin Boyle.
As part of its effort, the governing body is considering a significant reduction of the $767,000 proposed allocation for road resurfacing. The municipality still has more than $1 million in dedicated funding remaining from 2009, so cuts in potential further funding can be made. Still, the Council decided to wait until all the capital projects have been vetted to decide how much of the funding will be dedicated to road maintenance, perhaps the most visible of municipal duties.
The council is also hoping to hold off on the purchase of a pumper fire truck at a cost of $450,000. Though that purchase is not yet cancelled, council members said they would be seeking more information regarding the urgency of the requests in an effort to eliminate the line item for 2010.
The governing body did, however, decide to postpone the purchase of a $250,000 street sweeper and review the proposal next year. Gerald Storms, Department of Public Works director, said his department could continue to refurbish the two older units, which he said could conceivably last a few more years at a cost of just a few thousand dollars.
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Thursday, January 28, 2010
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1. Keeping the streets clear is a year-round job. Though outside of winter, he works as a city street sweeper.
2. Drivers work 12-hour shifts. Felice's shift is 7 p.m.-7 a.m. This time of year, though, 40-hour weeks are not the norm. "It's whenever they need you. If they need you to come in, you come in no matter how many hours or days you've already worked."
3. Felice estimates he's plowed upwards of 150 miles of city streets in a single night.
4. If a storm is predicted, drivers are out laying down sand and salt to try to keep things safe when the storm actually hits. And when the temperatures get warmer, plow drivers are still out there, keeping an eye on bridges, which can get icy as the temperature rises.
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