ROGERS -- Salary increases and new positions are proposed for Rogers' $45.4 million fiscal 2016 budget.
The City Council will meet Tuesday to discuss the budget prior to a final approval planned in December. Tuesday's meeting will be at 8 a.m. at City Hall, 301 W. Chestnut St.
The proposed 2016 budget is $1.7 million more than the 2015 budget of $43.7 million, according to budget documents.
Casey Wilhelm, Rogers financial director, said an increase in revenue from city and county sales tax in 2015 allows for the larger budget. The city is expected to bring in about $2.5 million more in sales tax revenue than was budgeted for 2015, she said.
Ten new staff positions will be added to the budget in 2016, Wilhelm said. This includes three police officers, a park manager, two park maintenance workers, two street department employees, a public relations employee and one new staff member in the finance department, she said.
The city will spend about $483,491 for the new positions, Wilhelm said. This includes salary and benefits, she said.
Mayor Greg Hines said it has been about five years since the city has expanded its workforce.
"If you are going to keep providing services at a quality level, you have to add positions as a city grows," Hines said.
It has been about 20 years since the street department added employees, Hines said.
Frankie Guyll said the street department employs 23 people.
"We have a lot more roads that have been added in recent years," Guyll said. "We have little over 400 miles of road for 23 people."
The proposed budget also allows the street department to purchase a road grader, electrician truck, two tractors and a sand spreader in 2016.
Guyll said most of the equipment will help with preparing for snow or snow removal. He said a lot of the department's equipment is older and need of replacement.
"I have sand spreaders that I purchased back in the 1970s," Guyll said.
Hines said the three park positions also are important. The city opened a bike park on Saturday. It also is in the process of expanding its trail system.
Andrea Brinton, parks department director, said the city plans to hire maintenance staff that is skilled at taking care of trails. The manager position also will oversee the bike park.
Wilhelm said the budget also leaves room for raises. All city employees will receive a 2 percent raise in 2016, she said. This will cost the city about $334,710, she said.
Hines said the city is in the process of moving to a merit-based raise system. This will change the way raises are approved in the future, he said. There will not be a standard across the board raise; instead raises will be based on evaluations, he said.
The City Council will review the budget on Tuesday, Wilhelm said. She said the budget will be brought back to the council during its Nov. 24 meeting. The council will be asked to approve it on Dec. 8. Regular City Council meetings are held at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.
Rogers' 2016 fiscal year will start Jan. 1.
NW News on 11/09/2015