WORKSHOP ITEM Joe Huss, Finance Director
Title
2017 REQUESTED GENERAL FUND BUDGET - SAFETY SERVICES; PUBLIC SERVICES
Background
Department Heads have completed their 2017 General Fund Budget requests and Finance has reviewed and passed the Requested Budget on to the City Manager for his review and recommendation. The 2017 General Fund City Manager Recommended Budget will be reviewed with Council at the August 18, 2016 Workshop. While Departmental requests exceeded estimated revenue by nearly $360,000, staff assures Council that the City Manager’s Recommended Budget for 2017 will be a balanced budget with a safe margin of revenue over expenditures.
For this Workshop, staff will review with Council the 2017 requests from the two largest Departments - Safety Services and Public Services.
SAFETY SERVICES
The mission of the Safety Services Department is to protect Blaine residents, visitors, and property from the effects of crime, fire, and natural disasters; and to assist in maintaining and enhancing property values through the administration of community standards. Safety Services is organized in three broad divisions:
Police - ensures the safety and protects the lives and property of Blaine residents, businesses, and visitors from the effects of criminal activity and provides emergency response to medical calls and accidents. In addition to departmental administration, the Police Division includes Patrol, Investigations, Professional Standards and Support Services. Safety Services has requested seven new positions within the Police Division:
• 3 Patrol Officers
o 2 Traffic Enforcement
o 1 addition to authorized strength
• Records Technician
• 2 Community Service Officers (CSO)
• Crime Analyst
In total the requested 2017 Police budget is $10,405,880; $855,500 (9%) higher than the 2016 Adopted Budget.
Fire Protection - is provided by the Spring Lake Park-Blaine-Mounds View (SBM) Fire Department through a contractual agreement with the three participating cities. The three cities are governed by their joint powers agreement. SBM has submitted a budget request that is, in total, $175,422 greater than the 2016 Budget. As Blaine is responsible for just over 75% of the contract, this translates to an increase of $137,880 (8%) for Blaine.
Community Standards - protects the health, safety, and welfare of Blaine residents, visitors, and properties through the application of standards of state fire and building codes as well as city ordinances. Members of the Community Standards Division also serve as emergency responders during the week, thus supplementing weekday fire protection services. Community Standards budget request for 2017 is an increase of $43,240 (4%) over the 2016 budget.
PUBLIC SERVICES
The mission of the Public Services Department is to ensure and enhance the health, safety, and welfare of Blaine residents, businesses, and the general public through programs designed to maintain the City’s investment in roadways, parks, buildings, and other infrastructure and assets, and to provide cultural and recreational opportunities to Blaine residents of all ages and abilities. The Public Services Department operates within four divisions:
Public Works - oversees the maintenance of all public buildings, streets and roadways, parks, and the City’s fleet and maintenance equipment, as well as overseeing the City’s forestry program. Public Works is requesting $232,970 (3.7%) additional funding for 2017. Included in the 2017 request is $40,000 for the painting of a traffic signal in 2017 and $50,000 for replacement of landscaped medians with concrete. No new positions are requested in Public Works for 2017.
Engineering - protects the health, safety, and welfare of the general public through design, inspection, and administration of public improvement projects, as well as providing oversight of private development, general engineering services, and bridge inspections. The 2017 requested budget for Engineering is $109,130 above the 2016 Budget. Included in the 2017 request is one additional staff position, a Traffic Engineer. The estimated cost for this position is $106,500.
GIS - manages the City’s geographic information system and provides geographic data internally to all departments as well as to the general public, the private sector, other governmental agencies. The 2017 GIS request is $12,670 (5.9%) above the 2016 Budget and includes $8,200 for pictometry services that would be contracted through Anoka County.
Parks & Recreation - manages the planning and development of new parks and provides a variety of recreational, educational, social, and cultural opportunities for Blaine residents of all ages and abilities. The 2017 requested budget for Engineering is $168,885 above the 2016 Budget. Included in the 2017 request is one additional staff position, a Recreation Manager. The estimated cost for this position is $121,200.
Recommendation
Staff is requesting that Council review the Public Safety and Public Services operations and 2017 requests, and to provide thoughts and direction as the 2017 Recommended Budget is being formulated.