Although the proposed 2014 budget came under fire from two aldermen Nov. 25, the city of Gillett plans to use tax money to pay for a fourth full-time police officer whose employment was funded by a grant since 2011.
Aldermen Rick Raatz and Tod Anderson voted against the proposed $392,627 tax levy, which was approved 4-2. The levy is up 4 percent over last year.
The budget included total expenditures of $1.21 million, down .02 percent from last year. A tax rate for residents has not been determined, city officials said.
At a budget hearing attended by a dozen residents, several speakers accused the council of overspending for public works projects — including the 2012 purchase of a new snow plow — and poor planning, claiming the council should have developed a way to pay for the police officer long before the grant funding disappeared.
Alderperson Nanette Mohr said efforts to set money aside for the fourth year of the grant were hindered by the former treasurer’s erroneous belief the city could not do so legally.
“It’s not that anyone around the table wasn’t trying to budget for it,” Mohr said.
In 2010, the city received a grant to create a full-time position for three years, with the condition the fourth year be paid by the city. Gillett native Ben Hicks was promoted from part-time to full-time officer in October 2010.
With the additional full-time officer, coverage expanded from 16-22 hours each day to 24-hour coverage six days a week and 20-hour coverage for the seventh. Along with the four full-time officers, the department employs three part-time officers.
Raatz said more effort should have been made to find funding alternatives for the police position. Paying for the position from the general fund left less money available for public works, and he was opposed to the reductions in the public works budget that have occurred over the past several years. The proposed 2014 public works budget decreased $1,138.
Public safety costs for 2014 increased by $18,800 over 2013, a 4.6 percent increase, and without funding for the grant, the revenue decreased by $61,000.
The budget included $61,000 for a fourth officer, which satisfied residents who were opposed to reducing the police force.
“We do not dare cut officers. We do not dare cut time,” said resident Angela Rickaby, whose husband, Emmett, served on the Gillett police force.
“I’m absolutely opposed to any cuts to the police force, in any way, shape, form or matter,” resident Kurt Hicks said.
Relying on the Oconto County Sheriff’s Department to respond to calls would increase response time, Rickaby said.
Mayor Irene Drake presented letters from the Sheriff’s Department and county’s dispatch center encouraging the city to keep the full-time officer, especially important for overnight hours.
Drake said the Finance Committee “cut wherever we could cut,” to create a balanced budget, even reducing the salaries of the mayor and alderpersons. Council members will earn $100 per month in 2014, instead of $200; the mayor will earn $2,550 annually, instead of $5,000.
Anderson questioned why $7,000 had been budgeted for overtime in the Police Department, when $900 had been budgeted the previous year. The city exceeded its police overtime budget in 2013 after the retirement of Police Chief Gary Pemrich in January until the hire of Chief Jess Keplinger in May. Keplinger said he was dealing with “uncharted territory” in preparing the 2014 budget.
“It’s hard for me to gauge anything here, Tod, with what’s been done in the past. It’s a hell of a job, because what was done before was very poor, obviously, from the mess we’re dealing with now,” Keplinger said.
The city of Gillett will spend every dollar it collects in 2014, said Drake, continuing its tradition of breaking even but not getting ahead.
“Contrary to … some of the comments out there, we are not bankrupt. We do have money in reserve,” she said.
The city since 2009 has seen property values drop by $5 million.
“And that hurts,” Drake said.
The city is set to reverse that trend somewhat in 2014. Adding to the tax rolls will be the Savage Lake Apartments, formerly tax exempt, a Family Dollar store now under construction, and Iron Horse Sales and Service, which opened on Main Street.
Drake said raising court fees will help raise revenue for the city and shutting off several street lights will save an estimated $200 per light annually.
In addition, the cost of soil contamination clean-up at the Nicolet Trail Campground might not be a burden to the city, Raatz said, if instead it is placed as a lien on the property. The city is responsible for a deductible of an undetermined amount for cleanup at the site after underground tanks were discovered there.
He predicted marketing efforts this winter and spring will increase interest in the campground, which saw little use after opening in August.
“Looking at how the campground did this year is, in my eyes, is not an indication of how it’s going to be,” he said.
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