2025 Proposed Budget Hearing 11/7/2024

all right uh

Emily Ash we can go live

see good good good morning or good

afternoon everyone uh thank you for

joining me at the

2025 public B public budget hearing uh

with the department heads I'm going to

start off with the city council uh in

front of me I have Jared trusdale uh

Cedric Humphries and Mr Michael Parker

um from the budgets that you presented

um do you are you guys in agreeance with

the

budgets yes do you have any other

questions no all right controller's

office

yes so the only thing that we're missing

that we would need to add then would be

the youth commission advisors and that's

$110,000 total to the temporary line

item only 10,000

yeah it's 5,000 for the senior 3,000 for

the Junior and then the 2,000 was just

figured I don't know if they do fridge

benefits or anything for

the uh temporary line positions but so

what we putting all that on the

temporary line that total will come

to 10 10

10,000 sure yeah just roughly

y we'll make sure that we get that on

the budget cool thank

you thank

[Laughter]

you controller's

office guys have a good day thank you

thank you

much

EXC okay

all right mve right along City

controller we have the with us the

deputy controller uh Mr oh geez Bill

linberger uh the budget been presented

uh the the budget that's been presented

through in front of you uh the budget

that you're approving

along yes it does all right any

additional questions or any additionals

uh additional things no no additions no

Corrections no questions excellent thank

you very much thank you

Treasurer so we have Dan and Sicilia

here cilia's here all right I know she

want to come come on Cecilia

all right before us we have the the

treasurer's office uh Dan Miller and

Cecilia Spiker syia syia Spiker um and

uh the budget that was presented to you

is that uh your budget you're approving

on it's pretty much acceptable but I

would like to make a change absolutely

and I'd like to um and it has relates to

the deputy treasurer's salary I did get

I just got this information okay and

she's the lowest paid manager in the

entire city and I suspect she has the

highest responsibility okay of almost

anyone she when actually when she goes

on vacation she can't go on vacation

because we need two people to

appropriate authorized um expenses

things like that so she got to log in

that and I've been here like 20 years I

don't know how long want about 20 or

mayor and um I would have to say I have

not met anyone that's more knowledgeable

than Celia is in breadth of knowledge

throughout the city history the laws

there's so much that she knows and then

when I see she's the lowest paid manager

it's really not quite the right thing

for us to do especially if we want to

keep good people so I would like you is

her salary in 2025 increase it by $5,000

to

$997,000 and7 and I'm more than willing

to take $5,000 from our legal fees for

$8,000 to make up for any

FICA Services you're going to take it

from there yeah take it from

there now is this the same amount of

money I mean

same that was just the the 2% increase

before we were we wanted I wanted to get

this information so I could be more

confident in what I wanted to say

huh can we give her the

yeah yeah I can give you copies okay and

and it's still she's still

bargain anything else so that's in

addition to the 2% that you already had

in there correct because that only

brings her up she's if you know what

happened she it was it was an

unfortunate thing where she didn't even

get a raise one year so we're trying to

make up for that very very unfair in my

opinion M concern I'll put down whatever

you want me to put in the budget but my

concern is that um I have no control

over what the legislative body does

that's fine with me more than we did

that last year we put the money in and

this legislative body took it out okay

we can work on that all right but let's

get it in there and then we're okay give

the

com to confirm

97500 okay I thought you said 9777

okay okay we'll do okay thank you very

much so did you have any other questions

or all right going up next is the

solicitor's office and it looks like we

have Mr Neil Grover

in good afternoon afternoon your budget

is being handed to

you and I had gotten a uh a summary

already um the only issue we have and I

think this might be one for later in the

year and it actually goes to the

position control issue is um we had

asked for a third Legal Assistant

because of the right to no volume we can

start the year without it okay if this

pace of increase keeps going I mean we

are now four times the volume we used to

be in terms of you know the requests

we're having over the year and and we're

basically just running Full Tilt with

two people doing nothing with the

document Gathering and and so we need a

third person for that if we used to have

one person we had 120 we have two people

and we have 600 request I mean it's just

and we have no control over the volume

so um but I think we I'm fine to start

the year without it I'm just letting you

know some point in the year we may have

to come back just to be we'll put it in

because at this point I think we got 100

right to nose right it's about 100

600 yeah we need a third person this

so you couple weeks you had

496 no the year is no no the year is

going to be 600 we 496

P five sometime yesterday okay and it's

the first week of November okay so so

we'll be adding one position of a legal

assistant to your to your budget for

2025 and it would be the equivalent of

the um the lower of the two we have we

have one with the main person then the

step First Step another first step right

okay

so okay thank you you much two a couple

other issues just because I always have

to bring them we have separate things in

the budget that aren't in the law Bureau

budget yes we have the collections

attorney and the public works I haven't

seen him whe that was there or not and

we have a settlement fund that goes into

the general fund um and we sort of

recommend it stay at sort of a constant

not a big number so your uh collections

attorney comes out of the public works

department correct because they mainly

collect sanation bills y so that

position will be in their uh Personnel

okay thank

you Dave if you can mention that when

you come up okay okay thank

you next would be the mayor's office

business administrator so if one of you

guys would be nice enough to go down

or coming up to you

now

no we'll be changing for a little while

my

gosh administr

right underneath of

it turn your speaker on turn your mic

on Forest is Samuel Sakowski the

business

administrator thank you

[Music]

this we

is the budget appr excuse me is the

budget upon you uh the budget you'll be

proven for 2025 it is thank you very

much in regards to the mayor's office is

the budget in front of you the budget

you'll be approving for 2025 yes it is

thank you very much

okay next is Melissa and the B Bureau of

communications

thank you for joining us uh before

excuse me before us is

Melissa mases

orti it's close

good uh representing the Communications

office is the budget before you the

budget you'll be approving for 2025 yes

it is thank you very much no additions

are changes

okay thank you

much Mr bortner for the

it for us is stepen bortner with the

information technology department and

Nathan grumbine is deputy director for

it and as the budget has been presented

to you the budget you'll be approving

for 2025 yes it is is there any

additions or uh Corrections not at this

time all right thank you very

much uh Miss

Joan before us is Janie

Willingham uh the Department of Human

Resources Bureau

director is the budget that's been

presented to you the budget will be

approving for 2025 the only thing I have

here is that the one salary increases

there one and the

other the yes that that's going to be

That's The Unofficial we're we're going

off of the spreadsheets uh for all of

these and just so everyone else knows

the spreadsheets is put in there we're

still building uh the budget books

Personnel so utilize the spreadsheet as

your master

copy okay everything all right I have a

question for you miss um we have yes did

you also put in there that we're going

one of the individuals will be getting

receiving an increase yes okay so is

that that's the one I was questioning

okay is that in the in your budget it's

in the spreadsheet okay it is

there okay good to go thank you very

much moving right along Mike and Janelle

for license tax and enforcement

good afternoon good

afternoon so uh is the budget that's

been presented to you the budget you'll

be approving for

2025 just clarification you said this

particular sheet is that's the Master

Copy yes it's all did match a couple

areas over here okay we're still

building that that in within the the

budget book software once we have HR um

live in the system then everything will

be able to flow to us the correct way

but we have to build it until

then but if you have information on your

one sheet and not on the spreadsheet you

need to identify that today we will you

right now yes please so that we make

sure that we

it's all right uh so on the salary

item for both myself and and Janelle the

amount on this sheet is different than

the amount on the spreadsheet okay it's

not drastic but it is a difference

that will be built those that's a part

of the building there it everything's

going to be linked to the personnel

which will then link to the position

control but again that's a part in the

building in the the budget

book so are the salaries higher or the

salaries lower than what's on the what's

put on the spreadsheet there the

spreadsheet does appear to be the

correct on they're a little bit lower on

this okay fine okay thank

you all right any any other questions

any other

Corrections now thank you thank you very

much next is the business resource

development and I'll be doing that in

their behalf unless Sam would you mind

okay I'll step down

good evening mayor good evening uh

business administrator Mr Sakowski on

behalf of Jason Graves and uh Gloria

Martin Roberts uh I am approving uh

their budget for this is I am okay with

their budget for 2025 and they couldn't

be here because they know

yes okay and you did as u m Roberts was

there any additions or Corrections there

were no additional Corrections or

changes okay thank you

much change something

all right Jeff for the planning he'll be

up next

if you can hold there for me for just a

second sure

I'm not connected

100 for

you sure it wasn't in there it's not in

there dear budget it's in

there it's just not showing in

here it must have just got messed with

in the print somehow

but I put it in here to print

so 215 yeah he's he's going up to get

215 I'm just going to send it to the

printer from

here

it's I got to make sure I'm just

capturing the right pages I don't want

to print a whole bunch of extra stuff

my my apologies Jeff yeah no problem

please bear with

me okay it's been printed let me print

this it's a printer Jam wonderful is

that

nope

Brian Brian could I use your help for a

second

you see is the small printer isn't

it a

on

toy e

got love all right let me bring

everything back up

all right sorry about that jeffi

apology um before us is Jeffrey Knight

the director of the planning Bureau of

planning for the city of Harrisburg is

the budget before you the budget that

you're approving for 2025 uh correct is

there any corrections or changes uh nope

looks good to me all right thank you

very much again my

apologies uh next would be Public Works

they're currently waiting on a copy of

theirs so we're going to continue on uh

guess we'll wait go into parks

recreation

enrichment good afternoon Sasha uh

before Sasha Ross uh deputy director for

public works or for Parks Rec creation

enrichment and is the budget uh that's

been presented before you the budget

you'll be approving for 2025 yes all

right is there any corrections or

changes no all right thank you very

much move right along

um I seen him M went back out

there he

goes could you grab Dave's hey Dave

would you mind come on up we can make

this real

quick I wish it would have been earlier

I know what you're thinking

thank you uh everything looks

[Laughter]

awesome uh before you is Dave Baker the

director of uh facilities and special

projects and uh before you uh is the

budget that's pres being presented to

you going be the budget you're approved

for

2025 yes is there any questions or

Corrections addition

additions you want to give me a minute

or two to actually look at it it it's

take you time um

from a moment's glance everything looks

the way it should um

yeah I'd say as long as the

administration is agreeable to this

version of the budget then we're good to

move forward all right thank you very

much sure

and Montgomery or I'll take the

commissioner on behalf of codes and

police good evening commissioner good

afternoon commissioner good afternoon DC

Young good afternoon sir good afternoon

Mr VA how you doing

again yeah it

is are

the are the budgets uh for codes

division is the budget being presented

to you a budget you'll be approving for

2025 yes thank you very much moving

right along to

police uh is the budget that uh being

presented to you the budget you'll be

approving for

2025 yes thank you very much is there

any come any changes or Corrections no

all right but it's not too late to make

changes if

correct just come see me yes sir and you

will be informed if any changes are

made make

sure fire

[Laughter]

you guys are always at each

other good good afternoon good afternoon

Chief excuse me Chief inline deputy

chief

saer uh for the fire department

Department are is the budget that being

presented to you the budget you'll be

approving for 2025 yes all right is

there any questions or any uh

Corrections the only uh correction that

I see uh to to point out are two uh 41

19023 there's no Pension Plan

contribution uh listed in there and that

may be a factor that we don't have that

from the Commonwealth

yet and then under

for the for Brian uh for the pension

plan I think was

October yes you have the minimum

Municipal obligation

yeah I don't uh Under Fire Pension Plan

B there's no no expenditure for that

correct yeah I think there's a

l l

line not a l line

that and uh the only other thing uh was

under Capital we were going to create a

syncing fund for fire apparat and I

didn't see that

listed that's going to be in a separate

EXC other than that we're in good shape

all right thank you much thank

you all right and Brian would you mind

doing for financial management grants

General expenses

transfers it was either me or

you it's all in there we'll put them

together we'll finish off with Public

Works is that fine all

right good evening or good afternoon Mr

Brian McCutchen he's the accounting

manager for the finance department uh

he'll be representing for it be uh

speaking in behalf of the financial

management area the grants management

area I don't see we're backing up uh as

well as general expenses transfers

capital projects and Debt

Service uh for the budgets a sensor that

you create

essentially um but for the budgets that

uh for finance uh grants General

expenses transfers capital projects and

debt services will they be the budgets

you'll be approving for 2025

um yes uh thanks Tim good afternoon um

for Bureau of financial

management uh yes that is the budget uh

it appears reasonable I just have a a

not to answer it now but there's a

little bit of a drop off in the services

grouping for financial management okay

which I think might relate

to uh the NW Financial the consulting

firm I don't think we'll have that

expense going into next year but I'd

like to just to request to reserve uh

some time to further review the

services uh grouping in in financial

management otherwise uh I'm I'm good

with this budget okay thank you much

right grant yeah grants management again

that's Rebecca's territory uh from my

look at it it appears reasonable um but

again I would suggest we and I know we

will allow allow uh some time for

Rebecca to chime in on that

uh General expenses uh is the the bigger

budget unit in the general fund the

biggest pieces to that include the

medical expense and also the city's uh

non-uniform MMO which I I've I've

completed that we're still analyzing

medical uh and I think it's it's still a

work in progress but we we will finish

this uh in time for the introduction to

council uh transfers uh in the general

fund I'm I'm good with that um with

mainly there's going to be transfer to

The Debt Service fund and we also have

to further evaluate what the transfer

amount should be from the general fund

to the Senator's fund related to the FNB

field project that's still

ongoing capital projects uh we've done

preliminary work on that we uh received

input from uh engineering and public

works so again we're trying to fine-tune

that get the projects clear and identify

any related funding sources we've

started that process we just have to

complete

that um The Debt Service fund is

accurate and fine two pieces to that um

the guaranteed debt the city has with uh

the Redevelopment Authority and also the

piip loan uh for uh for 2025

otherwise um that's the full take on

those funds or budget units any other um

changes or Corrections up to this point

uh no thank you all right thank you very

much and we're going to find leave off a

Dan here for public works and the

vmc engineering vehicle maintenance uh

traffic safety and

Highway in front of me here will be Dave

West Joanne Gray

Austin Griffin Sasha Ross Veronica leur

and Kevin Jackson in addition to John

Watson and Joel ciders sorry Tod Weber's

here as

well good afternoon all right good

afternoon so uh the budgets that's been

presented to you in terms of we'll do

start with traffic and

Engineering uh is Will those be the the

budgets you're approving for 2025

engineer yes all right thank you very

much we'll move right along to vmc

vehicle maintenance center the budgets

that's been print U presented to you for

the vehicle maintenance center will they

be the budget you approve for

2025 it'll be a budget I approved for

2025 but for currently in 2024 you have

uh uh it is currently vacant we have two

vacant positions of mechanic one and a

mechanic 4 okay we have an interview

Friday for the mechanic one we had a

mechanic one who broke his leg in three

places in a car accident we had DET

terminating because he had just he won

work today but we are going to replace

him but the other position we're going

to leave boy for the rest of the year so

we will have the one filled

okay but as far as uh the vmc budget the

other aspects of the budget is correct

okay any changes or Corrections on that

one for the vmc budget yes no just that

one that I just stated to you so then

you'll have one vacant position there

one vacant Automotive okay have you have

anyone in consider are you are they

being interviewed right now or we have

one we're interviewing tomorrow for one

of the positions okay the other one is

vacant we don't have any candidates no

candidates no okay all right

okay all right mve right along to

traffic and safety traffic safety and

Highway or I guess that would all be in

the f I'm sorry yeah Neighborhood

Services my apologies city services

budget is the budget being presented to

you the budget that will be approved for

2025 well the vacancy for the

administrative assistant we have an

interview tomorrow for okay so that'll

be filled all

right and also as Neil stated the

vacancy of

the assistance solicitors collections

which comes out of Neighborhood Services

budget

I guess he's trying to fill yes he can

speak on it but it comes out of neighor

services

budget all right okay are you

interviewing anyone at this point are

any

candidates okay so that's okay okay so

we'll leave that open for that at the

only position to be filled

okay and for Parks maintenance in

Neighborhood Services is that the budget

that that's Sasha Sasha would you

okay going up yep going to

record Sasha Ross back in front of us

for the parks maintenance portion of

Neighborhood Services and is the budget

that's been presented to you the budget

you approved for 2025 yes all right is

there any correction Corrections or

changes no all right thank you very much

how about special

events special events we can

just

y for special events budget uh for the

budget that's been presented to you for

2025 is that the budget you'll be

approving for uh 2025 yes okay any

corrections or changes no all right

thank you very much okay host fee who

has host

fee say stay there yeah REM as well hang

out the host fee budget um and with

taking into accountability the things

that we talked about about for the

sustainability coordinator the position

uh increases and everything uh is the

budget going to be the budget that is

being presented to you the budget you'll

be approving for 2025 yes is there any

corrections or changes no all right

thank you very much wait a minute I have

a question did you add the the different

okay all right thank you we had

additional

okay Fe that we going to put all right

all right thank you all

right um I see Miss Rebecca bmer is in

here uh we can go back to the grants uh

Bureau of Grants if You' like to didn't

do the neighborhood service Neighborhood

Services I'm so sorry I didn't move my

apologies Neighborhood

Services okay

for

uh part of the the positions we

are interviewing a demolition specialist

tomorrow as well so that one will be

filled the only one okay for 25 the new

position is the only one that's good

excellent on

um excuse me this building demolition

building demolition

yes um

for on this report it has crew leader

two crew leaders for 24 one crew leer

crew leader for

25 we have one crew ler period okay and

it says zero demolition specialist for

24 one for 25 we have one for 24 and

we're going to have two for 25 that's a

that's all incorrect yes that if you're

looking at the position control that's

going to be built off of the uh the

Personnel so the Personnel is what's

going to be driving the position control

but that currently is in a process with

this budget book software to build that

information it's a uh the query or the

if logic within um how they create the

thing um to create the the person

personel within the budget book so it

it'll be there ultimately everything

will be there as it's as it is done

within the uh Personnel section okay so

you're saying that there going to be two

demition Specialists he's will be hiring

for the 2025 budget is that what you put

in the budget one one one currently it's

one that we have currently that we're

filling okay and we so it designates the

two the one for 25 we'll make the two

exactly along with the the for yes how

about your crew leader you you are do

you need that other position because I

understand he put two in that position I

mean in

that no we don't need the two forms so

what he's looking at in terms of what he

was talking about with the crew leader

is the position control that part is is

hasn't been built off of that current

position I mean c the current Personnel

so as soon as that part is built within

the next day or two of me talking to the

software developers all of that

information will match from the

Personnel to the position

control so the miscellaneous contractor

Services line which

is uh

42990 yes it's

$750,000

MH

that is not included in everything that

we're doing now that we need to carry

over in our projects am I

correct uh uh that's whatever you put in

your budget for this year so I can't I

don't 25 to 750 is good is is is that's

correct okay my question we have a

project going on and we have 4 we have

$530,000 for it's in 24 the Project's

not going to be done we need to carry

over and car and CR troll over

everything come incumbrance roll

over yeah all right I just 750 to off

this there for 25 because that was

something different yes no understood

okay

any other questions or changes no that's

it all right well thank you very much

all right thank you right unless Rebecca

did you want to come up and speak on

behalf of the grants

budget I'm so sorry I according to the

agenda that you sent around I thought I

wasn't supposed to be here until 2:40 so

it it it went fast went a lot quicker

than what we thought so we're moving up

that's no problem thank you very much no

you're great you're great thank you um I

I have no issues with the the

grant uh the grant bureau's budget that

you sent over all right well thank you

very much no additions or no Corrections

no additions or

addition everything is accurate as as it

is is that what you're saying on this

spreadsheet yeah I think as fine as it

is um I'm hoping maybe next year your

honor to approach you for you know race

but I know that we can't do it this year

so it's hard just because folks who do

what I do in other municipalities make a

lot more than I do and it's just hard

and I brought in so much money to the

city years um but I understand you know

it's nobody's able

to again but anyway but this this is

correct and all the numbers are correct

given you know what we're able to do

terms of the raises the cola raises this

year okay all right thank you very

much and that should conclude the public

hearing all right well thank you

everybody for showing and I have a

wonderful day