As part of the budgeting process, city of Cheney department heads and staff prepared a number of goals they hope to achieve in 2015. Some of these are listed above.
Like every year, the different Airway Heights city departments will see minor increases or decreases in their revenues and expenditures for next year.
City Manager Albert Tripp explained that several departments will experience a reduction in their budgets, however it is a result of increases in efficiency throughout the department and not a decrease in services.
One example is the Police Department's overall budget is at $1.533 million for 2015, a 2 percent reduction from last year.
The Fire Department will have $916,570 for their budget, a $21,932 decrease from last year.
The Planning Department's budget is at $88,425, a 1 percent decrease.
One of the departments with increases is Community Services, which jumps from $190,621 to $268,090. Tripp said the increase to that budget will help maintain current programs, such as Health and Wellness, as well as implement new ones for the Senior Advisory Committee.
The Building Department's budget will increase from $132,490 to $142,010, a 7 percent increase.
While some departments' overall budget decreased, there were individual line items that grew.
The City Park's budget is set at $199,785, a 7 percent reduction from last year, yet the Special Event Expense increased from $8,700 to $10,000. For the Fire Department, expenses for public education supplies and dispatch services increased 29 percent and 23 percent, respectively.
Another reduction in expenses is staffing in the City Parks department. Tripp said the city is shifting to a model that provides a rotating part-time basis for city employees instead of staffing on permanent basis.
"The staff will work hours to coincide with the cycle of different programs," Tripp said.
The city saved money in police code enforcement after it entered into a contract with Spokanimal for animal control services. Tripp said the contract not only saved the city some money, but also allowed officers to respond more efficiently to code enforcement calls not related to animals.
There are several proposed items for the capital expenditures from various departments that are not currently in the budget. Tripp explained that departments will propose different expenditures and submit them to be approved by City Council. Some items proposed for this year's budget include hiring part-time firefighters for the Fire Department and two vehicles for the Police Department.
"The window of time between when the budget is initially submitted in November and up until the council adopts it in December, is a great opportunity to see if the proposed budget covers all of the services in the community," Tripp said. "If it does not, we can make amendments and adjustments to fund the services."
Al Stover can be reached at [email protected]
Reader Comments(0)