Laserfiche WebLink
2 <br /> <br /> Ms. Beauregard said transportation funding from the State is still a big question. <br /> <br /> Responding to a comment from Mr. Lynch about the variation in assessment <br />increases between residential versus commercial property, Mr. O’Connell said the <br />residential market is hot, but the commercial market is not. <br /> <br /> Mr. Aubrey Watts, Chief Financial Officer, said that commercial property is <br />assessed by either market or income value. He noted that when apartments convert to <br />condominiums they go from commercial to residential. <br /> <br /> Ms. Hamilton said that she is aware that some commercial property values are <br />flat. <br /> <br /> Mr. O’Connell reviewed major expenditures in the budget. Mr. O’Connell said <br />that one assistant traffic engineer is proposed to be added, and if the EMS proposal is <br />approved, 9 employees in the Fire Department will be added. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said he feels there are compelling arguments for the assistant traffic <br />engineer to help deal with the backlog, but then feels this position may not be necessary <br />after that. <br /> <br /> Mr. Jim Tolbert, Director of Neighborhood Development Services, said that his <br />department receives more calls about traffic issues than anything else. <br /> <br /> Mr. O’Connell noted that the citizen survey showed that the issues of traffic and <br />affordable housing moved way up as priorities. He said staff is struggling to meet the <br />community’s expectations. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown said that Council had discussed the possibility of adding additional <br />staff for traffic enforcement, and Chief Longo said that the cost to add personnel is <br />known, but the revenue side is not yet know. Chief Longo said that the 9 to 10 <br />operational vacancies in the Police Department need to be filled before filling traffic <br />enforcement positions. <br /> <br /> Mr. O’Connell said that staff is exploring the amount of fines. <br /> <br /> Ms. Hamilton said she is more concerned with having community policing rather <br />than traffic enforcement. <br /> <br /> Mr. O’Connell said that funds are included in the proposed budget for a 4% <br />across the board increase for City employees, a pool for market rate adjustments, and to <br />deal with compression issues in public safety. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said that when other benefits are included, such as market adjustments <br />and the parking contribution, it is really a 5.5% increase. <br /> <br /> Mr. Taliaferro noted that some City employees park for parking and others do not. <br /> <br /> Mr. Lynch said he supports the parking piece. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown said he would like to encourage people not to drive and to create <br />incentives to ride a bike or the bus. <br /> <br /> Ms. Hamilton said we need to deal with the fact that many employees live outside <br />of the City. <br /> <br /> Mr. Norris said he would like to explore options to providing at least some <br />benefits for domestic partners. <br /> <br /> Dr. Brown said he would also be interested in addressing that issue again. <br /> <br /> <br />