MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon City Council members passed a $56.89 million appropriations bill on Monday, but it took some discussion to do so.
2024 appropriations total $68M. Council appropriated $11.1 million last December.
Council members amended the legislation three times before passage.
The discussion started in a Parks and Lands Committee meeting. Councilman Mike Miller chairs the committee.
Miller requested several changes:
•Remove $90,000 for a dog park and move the money to the parks fund.
•Reinstate $150,000 in funding for playground equipment.
•Move requests for fire department equipment ($68,000) and police impound lot upgrades ($42,000) from Public Buildings & Lands to one of the voter-approved police and fire income tax funds; leave the $110,000 in the PBL fund for building maintenance.
•Remove $3,300 for a tennis instructor and allocate the money to the parks fund.
Rationale
Miller said the requests align with the master parks plan council approved in 2021.
“As a city, I think we’ve been a little neglectful on taking care of funding our city parks. We need to take care of what we have before we start building other things,” he said.
Regarding the police and fire expenses, Miller said, “Nothing should come out of the general fund if we have an earmarked fund that is capable of covering that.”
Additionally, Miller said Fire Chief Chad Christopher agreed the department could delay purchasing the equipment.
On removing the dog park, Miller said, “I am sticking with the plan that we created. A dog park’s not on there. Playground equipment is.”
Students pay to take the tennis lessons. However, no one knows where that money goes.
Safety-service Director Tanner Salyers noted that, as the former recreation director, fees for service should reflect fair compensation for the instructor.
Additionally, regarding discussions about a full-time vs. part-time recreation director, he said nobody has time to police all of the organizations and fees to see if the city is getting its proper share from registration fees.
Legislative session
In the legislative session, Councilwoman Amber Keener offered a five-part amendment to the appropriations bill:
•Boost the recreation director’s pay to $20,000 to explore the position’s potential and focus on the physical nature of public parks but keep the position part-time.
•Strike the HR generalist position from the new positions the administration recommended.
•Reduce demolition cost funding by $35,000 due to Knox County Land Bank potentially being able to fund.
•Move fire ($36,000) and police requests ($30,000) from parks & lands to fire and police funds and leave the $66,000 in parks & lands
•Remove $90,000 from capital improvements for a dog park and place it into the parks fund.
Rationale
Council discussed the recreation director and HR generalist positions in budget meetings.
“I think there were enough questions about the HR generalist that we would really like to explore more what that position will entail,” Keener said.
Of the parks director, she said there was a “somewhat clear focus” on the need to bring city parks up to standard. Additionally, she said it is difficult to sell naming rights to buildings that are falling down.
Salyers said removing the HR generalist position runs the risk of the current HR director leaving. He also noted the recreation director is the only position that can bring more revenue into the city.
Councilman Miller moved to replace Keener’s terminology on the police, fire, and dog park requests with his terminology. Council approved, which means the $150,000 for playground equipment was also reinstated.
Council then approved removing Keener’s changes relating to the recreation director and HR generalist positions.
Councilmen James Mahan and Mel Severns said they felt the council had agreed to move forward with both positions. However, in the ensuing discussion, council members learned the rec position was only partially funded.
Auditor Terry Scott explained there were insufficient resources to fund it fully in the appropriations bill. He noted that the entire $20,000 is not needed for 2024 because it will take several months before the position goes to full-time at the higher pay.
Additionally, it will take four or five months to fill the other personnel positions council wants to create. The money appropriated but unused for those months can go toward the rec director position.
Council ultimately approved the appropriations bill with Miller’s amendments on the police, fire, and dog park funds and Keener’s amendment deleting the $35,000 in demolition costs.
