City plans to end FY2018 with surplus

As the fiscal year drew to a close, Mountain Brook City Council met on Aug. 29 to discuss the draft of the 2018 budget with department heads.

“It’s a pretty good, solid budget,” said City Manager Sam Gaston. Under the proposed budget, the city would finish out the 2018 fiscal year with a little over $300,000 in general operations surplus. Gaston described it as having “not a lot of frills,” but with some capital projects lined up as well as one new position.

The Public Works Department discussed these projects, which with an estimated budget of  $12,131,686 included the Caldwell Mill Road bridge replacement, Jemison Road construction, preliminary engineering for replacement of the Old Brook Trail bridge and two sidewalk segments within the city, among other things. The two segments would cost about $50,000 and extend the pathway on Dexter Avenue and connect Oakdale Drive to Ridge Crest Road.

About $60,000 has also been allocated for ADA updates throughout the city, and $108,000 has been set aside for the bridge over Shades Creek, as well.

Emmet O’Neal Library plans to replace existing windows and Director Lindsy Gardner said they will not be creating any new positions. The library requested to purchase new print release kiosks, where patrons would be able to print and pay for their materials at one station as opposed to using different desktop printers that rely on coins for payment. Two kiosks, one for each floor, would cost $7,040 each and would have a cost-savings of about $1,300 per year, Gardner said.

The fire department requested funding for a new position, a full-time fire inspector, which would help manage the number of pending inspections. Since Fire Chief Chris Mullins took on his role as chief, Leland Rhudy has been working as the department’s fire marshal as well as performing inspections.

Last year, Mullins said the department asked to allocate funds for a part-time position to help with the workload, but they have been unable to keep up. Mullins estimated that only about 25 percent of the inspections have been done which does not include reinspections.

“I didn’t think we were that far behind, but we really are,” he said.

The fire department, along with the police department, also requested about $365,000 and $490,000 respectively for new radio equipment.

Because the system is changing, both departments are in need of updated radios that will connect to the new system.  “These will be a federal standard,” said Police Chief Ted Cook.

With the new system, he said officers should be able to talk anywhere in the state and with anyone in the state who is on the same operating system.

“Now here’s the good news on that: That’s the dollar amount that would go to our regular vendor, Alcom, and get figures for,” Cook said. “We’re anticipating going through Motorola Direct, bypassing Alcom, and getting somewhere maybe a [one-third deduction].”

He expects a minimum of a 10-year life expectancy on the new system.

Cook also said that the department might update its proposed budget to allocate funds for all officers to carry Narcan, a medication used to combat overdoses.

Cook said he is concerned for officers who may be exposed to harmful substances, such as fentanyl dust, when completing pat-downs, which leads to a chance that small amount can cause an overdose. They have started using nitrile gloves to block potential contact, but inhalation is another concern.

The council seemed in favor of adding Narcan expenses to the budget to protect officers.

City Clerk Steve Boone said the budget has also allocated $25,000 for the elections in August, which does not include a runoff, and $54,000 in capital to create a new server backup location at Public Works. There is a backup server already in City Hall, but Boone stated “in case of a disaster at City Hall,” they should have a remote backup device as well. The allocated funds would be a one-time cost.

Gaston said the proposed budget accounts for approximately $40,000 set aside for future traffic studies and Boone said they would add about $25,000 to redo the city’s webpage.

This budget will not be accepted until approved by City Council at a future meeting.