Gillett Police Department will operate with three — not four — full-time officers when 2015 begins yet maintain the hours of law enforcement coverage by relying on part-time officers, according to a budget plan adopted by the City Council on Monday.
The city projects to save about $32,700 in wages and benefits by transitioning to part-time workers, yet still plans to provide 24-hour coverage six days a week and 16 to 20 hours on the seventh.
Police Chief Jess Keplinger said the safety of the city will not be affected by the switch to part-timers.
“It should stay the same, I’m hoping, just for the fact we have quality, hardworking, motivated part-time officers,” he said.
The city has been protected by four full-time officers since 2011 when it accepted a federal grant that financed the position for three years, with the condition the city cover the fourth. The city’s 2014 budget included $61,000 for the position. When the grant funding ended on Nov. 21, Officer Karl Goerlinger moved from full-time to part-time employment.
The Gillett Police Department has had a busy year. In October, it had already surpassed the number of calls it responded to in 2013, when it responded to 1,199 calls. The city employs four part-time officers and is considering hiring another after the first of the year, according to Keplinger.
Finance committee chairman Debbie Erickson said developing a 2015 budget was a “very, very difficult process.” The committee started its work in August, sometimes working night after night to find ways to trim costs to meet the state-imposed levy limit yet address the needs of the city. With a 5-0 vote by the council, the levy was set at $387,275, down about 1 percent from 2014.
The tax rate will be $7.54 per $1,000 of assessed value, compared to $7.55 last year.
At Monday’s budget hearing, Erickson said the city clerk/treasurer alerted her the day before Thanksgiving that an additional $20,000 needed to be cut from the budget because expenditures were not under the 2.2 percent expenditure restraint set by the state.
“We had the budget all worked out, then that came up. Another $20,000 out of a budget that we trimmed as much we thought we could?” an exasperated Erickson said.
Clerk/Treasurer Beth Rank revised the budget, and an updated version was presented at the budget hearing.
“We picked certain items, but the items that we picked were the increase from 2014’s budget to the 2015 budget. We just moved the expenses back to the 2014 budget (amount),” Rank said. The general fund expenditures of $1.15 million increased 1.6 percent over 2014.
The city’s 10 employees, for the fourth year in a row, will go without raises, although benefits will remain the same for 2015. Public Works Director Tim Christensen said the employees are aware of the financial constraints the city faces.
“Not that it’s an easy pill to swallow, but you kind of understand where they’re coming from and why we can’t afford to have raises,” he said.
One relatively new expense for the city is Nicolet Trails Campground, the 20-site campground developed by the Community Development Authority on Washington Street. The city has been criticized for operating the campground, which has seen little use since opening in August 2013.
The city budgeted $8,880 in 2015 to repay a balloon loan on the property that must be paid off or refinanced in 2017 and $6,475 for insurance, mowing, utilities and other expenses relating to the campground’s operation.
In an effort to attract more campers in 2015, fees have been reduced to $15 per night and tents, in addition to self-contained campers, will be allowed. In 2014, the campground earned $1,243 in revenue.
Mayor Irene Drake said the city will continue to promote the campground, which received positive reviews last season.
“The campers we did have this summer seemed to be quite happy with the campground,” she said.
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