Meeting Cheney's budget needs, and restless nights

During a June workshop, Cheney department heads were asked to answer three questions for attending City Council members: What are your department's short-term needs? What are its long-term needs? And, finally, what keeps you awake at night?

For the five departments receiving revenue from the city's General Fund, 2015's projected $6.728 million budget provides some answers to the first two questions. As for the third, there are still restless nights.

Parks and Recreation

City Administrator and Parks and Recreation Department director Mark Schuller's short term department needs were pretty much met due to grant requirements from money the city received to build its new 50-acre Park along Betz Road. The city received $500,000 from the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program, along with several other grants and revenue from the real estate excise tax (REET) to fund the park's development, and complete phase one by June 2015 or repay some of the larger grant.

All that's left is finish installing an irrigation system, along with hydro seeding and the installation of parking, restrooms and ballpark backstops, which Schuller said would take place by June.

The department also hopes to find a new director. Schuller credits recreation supervisor Kim Best and staff for running the department's programs well while looking at ways to increase quality. They hope to have a new director by May 1.

"It depends on how the first quarter of the year's budget goes," Schuller said.

Long term needs can be summed up in one word: Pool. The city's swimming pool turned 50 this summer, and while in good condition, it is becoming harder to reliably maintain.

The pool is one part of what keeps Schuller up at night, and that is parks facilities that are growing older each year, and in many cases beginning to show it.

"All those things are in need of some TLC," he said.

Fire

Fire Chief Mike Winters looks at the city's 2015 budget as achieving the short-term status quo, where the department didn't gain anything, but they didn't lose anything - such as personnel - either.

"That makes me happy, that the citizens are not going to lose any services and there's no challenges with that," Winters said.

The rest of his short-term and long-term concerns revolve around equipment that needs replacement, beginning with the department's No. 1 engine. Purchased in 1995, the city's main response truck has been showing the signs of wear over the past several years, requiring three transmission replacements and $23,000 – $24,000 of repairs in 2014 alone.

"It's hemorrhaging red ink, so to speak," Winters said. "For a front line engine, that's (20 years) pretty much the life expectancy."

Costs for a new engine begin at $400,000 and could top $600,000 with a 1 – 1.5-year lead-time. There are other equipment issues as well such as hoses, turnouts and airpacks. Winters' goals in 2015 include finding funding to address their replacements.

As for his sleep, Winters said he's getting some knowing the budget is balanced without any layoffs, and that the City Council understands the "big picture" surrounding the department's needs.

Police

Police Chief John Hensley said the budget meets the short-term needs of maintaining the department's current level of service. Patrol and communications overtime, currently composing $31,000 of the total $44,700 given the department, has been increased by $10,000, with no room for anything unexpected to happen.

As with other departments, equipment replacement is the main long term need not addressed. Police vehicles and other equipment, such as Tasers, need replacing and Hensley sees a requirement for all police departments to use body cameras coming in the future. If it materializes as an unfunded state mandate, Cheney could have trouble affording it.

"I'm not opposed to it (body cameras)," Hensley said. "It's just a matter of economics."

What causes Hensley to lose sleep is revenue, especially enough to enable the department to hire more officers and office support personnel. The department maintain service levels through creative juggling of staff and a mindset that anyone working in the office who "has a badge and a gun can go out" and handle a call.

What worries Hensley are dangerous situations at times when staffing is thin.

"What I'm concerned about is the safety issue of an officer working alone," he said.

Municipal Court

Court Administrator Terri Cooper's needs take the form of three wishes. The first wish, restoring the court clerk to a full-time position, comes true in 2015, thanks to Cheney contracting with Medical Lake to take on their municipal court duties.

"That (full-time clerk) was our number one concern," Cooper said.

Her second wish was additional funding so that misdemeanor charges, such as driving under the influence, can be filed with the Cheney court rather than in Spokane. A lot of that has to do with police staffing levels, which Cooper doesn't see increasing until the local economy gets stronger.

Her third wish, the capability for electronic filing of parking tickets, is a capital item currently without any ability to finance. Cooper said the Police Department utilizes electronic ticketing, the use of which has increased efficiencies and decreased problems, such as handwriting legibility and citing incorrect RCWs.

"That's what I saw for parking tickets," Cooper said. "It's definitely going to remain on our wish list."

As for getting some sleep, Cooper said the full-time clerk position helps, and that they are focused on maintaining service levels while hoping the economy improves.

Finance

For Finance Director Cindy Niemeier, the 2015 budget meets her short-term through maintaining all departments' service levels, including her own. As for what keeps her up at night, it's hoping the city pool or fire engine No. 1 doesn't break down, that a flu epidemic doesn't sideline several police officers, and a host of other scenarios.

Niemeier hopes things begin to pick up, looking towards the day when more housing construction brings in sales tax and REET money, the city's Commerce and Industrial Park begins to fill with more tenants and the state Legislature comes to its senses and realizes it owes cities and counties revenue from things like liquor and marijuana sales.

Without these, Cheney faces ever more challenging budgeting processes.

"It's difficult to continue operating with a zero-based increase budget," Niemeier said. "It just keeps getting tougher and tougher and tougher."

Even with the scenario described above, the city might have to consider some sort of capital bond to pay for some needs down the road. Niemeier said that's a discussion for later in 2015, and one they need to be careful about because citizens would need to see tangible improvements in their lives for them to approve such a measure.

What is really needed to help the city's general fund is a better, constant stream of reliable revenue.

"It'd be nice to breathe a little bit and plan for stuff," Niemeier said. "It would be nice to not always have to say 'no.'"

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.