2005-03-21 - Laserfiche WebLink

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there is no money in the State budget to fund the increases and he asked the City to supplement the salaries. He asked a number of people who support this to stand. Ms. Laura Humbertson, 812 Valley View Court, said that State and Federal funds for Jefferson Area Board for Aging have been cut. She said JABA is requested at last a 3% increase from the City. Ms. Cathryn Astin, 720 Exton Court, asked that Council fully fund the Legal Aid Elder Law Outreach program as recommended by the review team. Ms. Lotta Lofgren, 1856 Field Road, asked that Council again help Live Arts. She said the arts must be accessible and affordable. She asked Council to forgive the $30,000 tax bill for the City Center for Contemporary Arts. Mr. Will Kerner, 1618 E. Market Street, member of the Board of Directors for the City Center for Contemporary Arts, estimated that the Center generates $600,000 in direct and indirect economic impact downtown. He asked that their tax bill be offset using a small portion of the increased meals tax generated downtown. Mr. Anthony Best, Kents Store, a retired police officer from another state who has a son in the City Police Department, said he is disabled and had an accidental disability insurance policy with full family health insurance. He said the benefit program here is archaic. He asked Council to give the Chief the budget he needs. Mr. Faron Ocheltree, 300 Afton Mountain Road, a City police officer, said he cannot afford to live in the City. He said career development increases are not figured into retirement. He asked that this also be looked at in the Fire Department. Ms. Nora Gillespie, 2407 Brook Road, Director of the Small Business Development Center, asked for funding to provide free consulting to small and midsize businesses. She said this should not be considered a new service and asked that funding be reinstated. She said if funding is not provided they will have to reduce services to city businesses. Ms. Mary Reese, 95 Oak Forest Circle, spoke in support of the allocation for Jefferson School for its preservation and revitalization. Mr. Jim Moore, 1213 Hazel Street, thanked Council for holding the budget forum. He said the budget document is an improvement but there are still omissions. He asked if staffing cuts mean no new positions, and if not, how many will be created. He asked why the budget does not conform with the guidelines, and when the decision was made and was the public given an opportunity to participate. He asked why CityLink is not in the budget. He asked for an explanation about how we can have a net loss in commercial trash collection and still not be competitive. Mr. Robert Hodous, 1309 Lester Drive, made three comments: use a different way of setting guidelines combining the cost of living with growth of the population; he said some of the same things, which are competing programs, such as the pre-school program and child care, are funded; he has serious concerns about funding private charities that do not provide essential services. He recommended instead that Council let money for increases build up and provide funding when charities cannot raise the necessary amount. Mr. Charles Weber, 601 Locust Avenue, said that while he has supported reducing staff, he thinks it is unwise to focus on Police Department staffing. He supported restoring four full time positions in the Police Department to be offset by reductions in less critical areas. Mr. Neal Goodloe, a parole officer, supported increased funding for the Police Department.