“We don’t have the architect plans finalized yet to put them out to bid, but we’re close,” he said. “Then we’ll sit down with the architect and the engineer and put them out to bid to see what it is going to cost exactly and then decide if we need to add to or take away from things.”
The city has two fire stations now and one of them is inadequate, according to Treasurer Mike Engel. He said if the fire department needs to get a new engine — and they will, one now is 18 to 20 years old — it won’t fit in the old station because the newer models are so big. The space inside is also cramped.
“They are outgrowing it, we’ve got people there who are working part time and some will stay overnight,” he said. “There aren’t adequate quarters for doing that. They have one single room, it has a couch or two, a TV and some other miscellaneous stuff. That’s where they have to be.”
Engel said if the city does elect to build the new fire station, it will need to borrow the money by issuing bonds.
The passage of the police levy last year will also have a big impact on the city this year.
RELATED: Police levy adds two new cops this year
Voters overwhelmingly approved the 5.25 mill permanent levy in March by a 60-to-40 percent margin. The primary purpose of the levy was to hire five new police officers over time, including one who will be a member of the Butler County Drug Task Force.
The city hired one new officer last year and plans to add two more this year. Jones said he doesn’t have a timeline yet for when the officers will hit the streets, but the number of available job candidates could come into play.
The applicant pool is much smaller now than what it was a few years ago, he said. “In 2010, we would have a job opening, we would get 80 to 100 applicants. I want to say this last applicant pool we had 30-some applicants close to 40, which is about half of what we’d expect to get.”
MORE: Levy a “nice problem”
The city held a retreat recently and if there was a theme for the gathering, Jones said it would be solving the funding problem for public works.
“The main thing that continued to rise to the top is our public works department is short in funding in some areas, primarily in streets and parks…,” Jones said. “There were some discussions, not solutions (to fix the funding), but we brainstormed some and agreed as a group it’s going to take much more discussion.”
Jones said the city is also putting extra emphasis on public service by offering more online options and credit card payments. The city began taking credit card payments in 2006 and collected $191,000. Last year, the collection was $1.1 million. They began online payments two years later and received $163,0000. That number is now up to almost $1.2 million.
The clerk of the mayor’s court is also looking into online payments and an automatic pay by credit card system.
About the Author