Department heads came forward before the Common Council at a recent work session, asking for certain changes in their budgets.
Dennis McNamara, chief operator of the filtration plant, Michael McFall chief operator of the wastewater treatment plant, Police Chief Steven Abbott, Fire Chief Luca Quagliano and Clayton Dimmick, director of Highways Parks and Water Distribution, presented separately for approximately five minutes each and then answered questions.
Proposals included:
• McNamara said he could cut costs from $8,000 to $5,000 for maintenance repair at the pump station. He also noted chlorine prices were down and he could save almost $4,000. At the filtration plant, he said he may need a boiler repair or a generator repair. Chemicals for the plant will come to $138,000 for the year.
• McFall asked for a new mechanic, but he’d like to eliminate the maintenance supervisor position, which is vacant, making a net personnel growth impact of zero. McFall said the city would save money because a mechanic would not earn as much as the supervisor position. He also noted that the UV disinfecting equipment was not operating in 2024, which saved money for a possible new communications system to be installed. It’s a 25- to 30-year fix, he said, and would cost $172,000.
• Abbott said his only major need was two new vehicles. He said that he was due three cars in 2024, but the city asked to “pull those back,” which he did, leaving his department one year behind in rotation for marked patrol vehicles. Otherwise, Abbott said he’d been able to get a grant for technology and was able to get new laptops and radios without impacting the budget.
• Quagliano asked for a new position, fire prevention officer, that was eliminated more than 20 years ago. The job entails performing fire inspections and hosting fire prevention assemblies in schools. Currently, the job is “inefficient” and is spread over eight personnel who have firefighter duties that prevent good scheduling practices for inspections. Inspections would also bring in revenue and there was some discussion on fees. He also asked for renovations on the fire station, including gear lockers, and taking out the carpets and flooring, which would cost approximately $100,000.
• Dimmick reported that he’d need a new pickup truck for plowing city parking lots and Main Street. His budget to maintain repairs on vehicles was reduced by $80,000 so the Fire Department could take care of its own repairs and leave Dimmick with fewer vehicles to maintain. He also asked for a water truck which was not built in the mayor’s budget. It would cost approximately $85,000.