Council skeptical of new staff additions

Published 8:00 pm Saturday, October 7, 2006

Scales questions addition of new work, when many current projects aren’t done.

Mayor Darlene Kordonowy’s proposed 2007 budget is already making some on the City Council hot under the collar.

But then, Kordonowy expected that.

“We’ll have many heated discussions because this budget will not be satisfactory to everybody,” she said in a presentation of her $56 million budget to the council on Monday.

With a few days to mull the document over, some councilors are already stoking the debate.

“We’ve got to work better to implement strategies with the administration,” said Council Chair Bob Scales on Thursday. “We’ve got to address how to deal with staff shortfalls and set priorities to get projects done. That plan in the budget is not in place. It’s just more funding for more things. There’s no point in budgeting when one-fourth doesn’t get done. It isn’t fair to anybody.”

Scales estimates that about a quarter of the projects budgeted last year were not implemented. That translates into $14 million worth of bike lanes, road repairs and other improvements that went undone, according to Scales.

“That’s pretty bad to have 25 percent of things in the budget not get done,” he said. “This year, we can’t do the same thing, but I don’t see the solution yet.”

Councilman Bill Knobloch called the mayor’s budget proposal “ambitious” but said it left many unanswered questions. Knobloch echoed Scales’ concern for meeting staffing shortages.

The city lost more than 30 employees over the last 10 months, including city engineers tasked with implementing various projects budgeted by the council last year.

“Do I see a problem? Yes, right now I do,” Knobloch said. “In 2006, we budgeted money for vacancies, but we couldn’t fill them. We’re going to have to ask a lot of hard questions.”

Councilman Jim Llewellyn believes the answers lie not in the number of tax dollars allocated, but in the the number of hired hands to do the job.

“We (set aside) the dollars, but getting things done has always been seen as the problem,” he said, citing delayed road improvements along Grow Avenue, Wing Point Way and the proposed roundabout at the intersections of Wyatt Way and Madison Avenue.

The three councilors agree the city may have to hire contractors to fill many of the island’s municipal needs.

“I don’t know if there’s much else we can do,” said Scales. “It’s hard to recruit engineers when they’re leaving for greener pastures at private firms. The city can’t compete.”

Larger salaries and more opportunity for advancement makes jobs with private companies more enticing than what the city can offer, Scales added.

Without a detailed plan on how to better recruit and retain staff, Scales is doubtful the mayor’s proposal for 12 new staff will meet growing demands.

“If we have 12 new positions and can fill only three or four, it doesn’t make much of a difference,” he said.

Scales also believes the city should rethink public processes involved in many capital improvement projects, which often take substantial amounts of staff time, numerous meetings and other financial costs.

“Some of it may be necessary, but some of it may hinder projects from getting done,” he said.

Knobloch, while wanting to see a more projects implemented rapidly, disagrees with reductions in public involvement.

“It’s the only way we can bring the community in and give them information on how their money is being spent,” he said. “The community asks hard questions and deserve to be part of the process.”

Knobloch said the city can boost its effectiveness with more thoughtful budgeting. He took issue with the mayor’s proposal to add two new staffers to the Winslow Tomorrow planning project.

“Winslow Tomorrow is interfering with capital projects,” he said. “Allocation for Winslow Tomorrow comes out of the general fund, which capital projects also uses.

“The two entities are competing with each other.”

Knobloch and other councilors plan to retool the mayor’s budget toward what they characterize as practical initiatives that fit the city’s limitations.

“There’s always the danger of going on a spending spree,” Knobloch said. “But then you run into a debt headache down the road.”