Grand Island Fire Chief Cory Schmidt, top left; G.I. Police Chief Kevin Denny, top right; Emergency Management Director Jon Rosenlund, bottom left and Grand Island Public Library Director Celine Swan, bottom right.
GRAND ISLAND – Four department heads gave budget presentations to the Grand Island City Council during a study session Tuesday, July 30.
First, Grand Island Public Library Director Celine Swan talked about the library’s budget needs. The budget pertained to personnel, operating costs, and capital.
“The Library collaborates with preschools, schools, other city and county departments and many nonprofits to promote excellence. The Library currently has gold accreditation with the Nebraska Library Commission,” Swan wrote in a memo to the City Council.
The Library’s personnel increases are 5.81 percent. The Library is requesting 2 FTE increases that would allow it to add five part-time library assistants. This would be $92,874 for wages only.
“This will allow us to adjust and add more hours, provide more bilingual staff for our diverse community, have staff to do outreach to schools to improve literacy skills, have staff to help with Makerspace programming, and more,” Swan wrote. The Library would cut back on some operating expenses and ask for help from the Library Foundation to help make the personnel addition.
The Library is proposing to add four additional hours to its schedule, to increase from being open from 56 hours to 60 hours a week. This would include being open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. She said that the Library is open fewer hours per week than comparable Libraries. For instance, the Bellevue Library is open 66 hours a week.
The operating expenses are 2 percent for an increase of $11,006. Library books in both paper and electronic form have gone up, as well as postage, databases, computers, and other items. For capital projects, the Library is requesting $65,000 to add one kiosk. The kiosk would be located where patrons of all ages could access it. The kiosk could be compared to a vending machine library.
Swan said a lot of people are on fixed incomes and may not have money to pay for Internet access. They depend on the Library to provide this service.
“The Library really does benefit our community,” she said. “We provide a lot of programs for children and adults.” She noted that every Hall County resident is eligible to get a Library card.
Council member Chuck Haase asked how many volunteers the Library has. Swan didn’t provide a specific number, but said that volunteers perform important tasks such as staff the Library’s welcome desk.
“We have great volunteers,” Swan said.
“The Library is a pretty important part of the city,” Council member Mike Paulick said.
Next, Fire Chief Cory Schmidt talked about the Fire Department and ambulance service’s budget proposal.
The ambulance service would see a 51.91 percent increase by moving six FTEs from the Fire Department to ambulance service. A third ambulance would be staffed. The Fire Department would have a 6.27 percent reduction in personnel costs.
In operating expenses, the Fire Department would have a 4.67 percent increase ($22,000 for division chief testing), while the ambulance service would have a 7.55 percent increase ($12,370 for paramedic training).
The Fire Department would add a Fire Captain who would be assigned to overseeing training. The person would oversee training for new recruits and current firefighters, and act as a risk compliance/risk reduction officer.
Prior to 2012, the Fire Department had a full-time training person, Schmidt said. The Department averages two to three training academies per year. The Department is seeing recruits with less experience coming in, such as some recruits coming directly out of high school.
The Fire Department’s major capital project is construction of Fire Station 3 at a cost of $5,393,721. Schmit anticipates that the Fire Station would be completed by next summer.
The Fire Department needs to replace its ladder truck at a cost of $2,340,000. The current ladder is a 2000 model. The Fire Department also would purchase an ambulance for $409,000. It has a $75,000 grant from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The ambulance was ordered in April 2022 and would replace a 2003 model.
The Fire Department is requesting $300,000 for bunker gear. This refers to the protective gear worn by firefighters. The Fire Department received a grant for $85,132 to go toward purchasing $125,000 in exercise equipment.
The Fire Department is requesting $60,000 for software to replace several other programs. Other requests include 2.5-inch hose and nozzles ($52,000), portable radios ($40,000), replacement of four overhead doors ($40,000), a mobile repeater ($26,000), and a Lucas device that does chest compressions in an ambulance ($20,000).
Police Chief Kevin Denney is requesting funding to add one lieutenant position and one sergeant position. Two captains would be reclassified as division chiefs. The anticipated starting date for all of them is March 1, 2025. The reclassification of two captains is more of a trend nationwide, Denney said.
The Police Department is requesting an increase of $502,566 in operating expenses, a 26.9 percent increase. This includes an increase in the Humane Society contract, an increase in professional services and travel and training expenses for new hire employment requirements and mandated training, and an increase in dues and subscription for an upgrade in a software program.
The Police Department is requesting an unspecified amount increase for abatement issues and an unspecified amount increase for day-to-day operations. The Police Department is able to maintain its ammunition budget because of donations by Hornady Manufacturing, which also makes other donations to the department.
For capital projects, a building will be constructed for the storage of specialty equipment, a dedicated training area, and a Tactical Response Team briefing area. Safety gates and fencing will be added at two locations, and improvements will be made to existing office space at the Police Auto Impound lot.
Capital equipment will be increased by $1,135,979, of which a grant will reduce out-of-pocket expenses to $963,599. Eight new patrol units will be added to the fleet. Rifles and pistols will be replaced. Additional equipment such as radios, radar units, and automated license plate readers will be purchased.
Over the next three years, Denney outlined changes over the next three years. First, there will be a dedicated traffic unit. Second, there will be a violent crime reduction unit. Third, the Police Department will increase its community engagement initiatives, such as having a dedicated business and non-profit agency engagement officer, and leadership development for sergeants and lieutenants.
City/County Emergency Management Director Jon Rosenlund talked about his department’s budget needs. Personnel services will be requested to increase by 7 percent. This includes no changes in FTEs. The Department will maintain the same level of services to the public in 911 and emergency management services.
An increase of operating expenses by 5 percent is projected. This resulted from an increase in city information technology services (8.5 percent) and new building custodial services.
The Department has a capital equipment project of purchasing P25 radio equipment for $3 million. Grant funds can pay up to 75 percent of the project. The remaining 25 percent will be shared between the city and county. P25 is a set of standards for digital two-way radio systems that are interoperable and designed for public safety professionals.
Two outdoor sirens need to be replaced at a cost of $35,000. On an ongoing basis, two older or unrepairable outdoor warning sirens should be replaced annually.
Council member Chuck Haase asked whether outdoor sirens should continue to be provided, given that various weather warning technology is available. Rosenlund responded that the outdoor sirens should continue to be provided. When people hear the sirens, they know that they need to go indoors and seek shelter.
“I do feel like we need to maintain outdoor sirens,” Rosenlund said. “It’s a simple, easy system.”
Other budget requests are a radio repeater ($8,000), 911 monitors ($10,000), emergency operating center computers ($10,000), and audio recorder ($40,000). The audio recorder may not be necessary, because it is included in one of the P25 radio project proposals.
