New Piper fire station not part of UG’s budget

Funding for a new Piper fire station is not included in the budget that received Unified Government Commission support on Monday night.

The budget that reached a consensus Monday night received UG Commission approval on a straw vote, which is nonbinding. The final budget vote is scheduled at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 28. There was a consensus on the budget on Monday night.

The tentative budget now includes a 2-mill property tax cut instead of the originally proposed 1-mill cut. That means instead of about $1 million going to property tax relief, about $2 million will go toward tax relief. The UG’s budget is expected to receive a boost of about 12 mills (about $12 million) this coming year when the sales tax revenue bonds are paid off at Village West.

There was also some support for continued property tax reduction in future years.

The administrator’s original budget on July 7 was aimed at “getting our house in order,” restoring about $5 million in fund balances that were tapped during the recession, replacing worn-out equipment especially for public safety, and making repairs, according to UG officials.

Many of the UG commissioners backed projects in their districts that received approval on Monday night. The UG administrator had listed several of the new projects for cuts, but commissioners instead decided to cut the amount of funds that would go to fund balances, or reserves, and leave the programs in place.

The new fire station at Piper was brought up by Commissioner Mike Kane, but the fire station was not placed into the budget.

The Kansas City, Kan., Fire Department has some expensive fire equipment in the proposed budget, including four apparatus and two ambulances. UG officials have said that the UG is currently in negotiations with the firefighters’ union. At an earlier meeting, UG officials said they wanted to implement the fire study recommendations as a whole, not build a new fire station in Piper without implementing other parts of the plan. The plan called for some mergers of fire stations on the east side of Kansas City, Kan.

A representative of the firefighters’ union appeared at a recent budget meeting to explain that they have a different set of facts than those that were used in a consultant’s study of the Fire Department. Firefighters have written on social media that they haven’t had a raise in three years.

At the Monday night meeting, UG Administrator Doug Bach told Kane that the fire station was tied to reductions in overtime at the Fire Department.

“They (the fire stations) are based on how we put together the savings we generate back from the Fire Department’s budget,” Bach said.

Kane, who has been bringing up the issue of a Piper fire station for 11 years, asked for a plan to set money aside to start building the fire station now.

Mayor Mark Holland said the station needs to be built, but it needs to be part of the fire study plan.

Kane said a fire station is needed in the Piper area because of the amount of growth that has taken place over the past decade. He said more than 13 subdivisions have been built in Piper in the last decade or so.

The UG earlier found a high level of overtime in public safety departments. According to UG officials, the UG wants to take the savings out of overtime in the Fire Department and apply it toward the new fire station.

The revised budget added the police body camera program for $400,000, as well as home repair funding at $50,000 and Area Agency on Aging supplies at $50,000.

None of the administrator’s proposed cuts are scheduled now, after the commission’s discussion Monday. If approved they would have been a $1.1 million cut for the 2-mill property tax cut and a $2.2 million cut in programs for the 3-mill property tax cut. The details of the UG administrator’s proposed cuts for the 2-mill property tax cut and the 3-mill property tax cut:

Programs that would have been cut had the administrator’s 2-mill reduction been implemented. (None of them are scheduled to be cut now, except $400,000 from Water Pollution Control fund and $100,000 from grant match funding):
• Water Pollution Control Fund, would have been cut $500,000.
• Park ranger position in Parks and Rec, $60,000.
• An intern in the blight reduction program, $20,000.
• Two inspectors in the blight reduction program, $36,000.
• K-State Extension, $50,000.
• Blight reduction program, grant matching, $100,000.
• Street repair, curb and sidewalks, $315,000.
• City Hall, sixth floor remodel, $69,000.
• Argentine Recreation Center, $350,000.
• Commission special fund, $20,000.

Programs that would have been cut had the administrator’s 3-mill reduction been implemented. (None of them are scheduled to be cut now, except $400,000 from Water Pollution Control fund and $100,000 from grant match funding):
• Water Pollution Control Fund, would have been cut $500,000.
• Media relations specialist, $73,000.
• Third newsletter, $26,000.
• Horticulturist for Parks and Rec, $56,000.
• Parks manager for Parks and Rec, $62,000.
• Park ranger for Parks and Rec, $60,000
• Human resources analyst position, $52,000.
• Animal control officer, $56,000.
• Zoning enforcement officer for the blight reduction program, $46,000.
• An intern in the blight reduction program, $20,000.
• Two inspectors in the blight reduction program, $72,000.
• Fire aerial, $110,000.
• K-State Extension, $50,000.
• Animal control vehicle, $27,000.
• Demolition, public outreach, mowing, $125,000.
• Blight reduction program, grant match funding, $100,000.
• Street repair, curb and sidewalks, $350,000.
• City Hall, sixth floor remodel, $69,000.
• Argentine Recreation Center, $350,000.
• Commission special fund, $20,000.

To see the July 25 budget story, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/ug-commission-moves-forward-with-2-mill-property-tax-reduction/

To see a July 7 budget story, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/ug-budget-proposal-recommends-1-mill-property-tax-reduction/
To view the Monday night budget meeting, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UlJAstcyo4.