MANSFIELD — Mansfield City Council is expected to vote Tuesday on the final 2022 appropriations budget, which includes $32.6 million in general fund spending.
The budget contains an additional $1.84 million for the city’s safety forces — police, fire and communications — outlined March 1 by Finance Director Linn Steward.
The increase over the temporary budget approved in December includes:
— $754,582 for police salary and benefits to help alleviate hiring and retention issues. The number of budgeted officers remains at 87, including five positions paid by grant.
— $706,655 for fire department salary and benefits, mainly to offset rising overtime costs. The number of budgeted firefighters remains at 90.
— $251,053 for public safety communications center salary and benefits to help alleviate staffing shortages. The number of budgeted personnel increased by three, to 20 from 17.
A significant portion of the police department increase came when council on March 1 approved immediate 7.75 percent pay hikes for the Blue and Gold units of the Fraternal Order of Police William Taylor Lodge 32.
The Blue unit represents police officers while the Gold unit represents command officers — captains, lieutenants and sergeants.
The current three-year contact with the FOP unions doesn’t expire until July 31.
But the city chose to make the pay increases immediate through a Memorandum of Understanding in an attempt to prevent other communities from “poaching” Mansfield officers.
Richland Source obtained a copy of the MOU on Friday through a public records request. In addition to the immediate 7.75-percent wage increase, the MOU calls for 2.5-percent raises in each of the second and third years of the three-year contract.
The MOU also calls for $6,500 retention bonuses for all union members, which will be paid from the city’s second round of American Rescue Plan Act funds. The total for the bonuses is expected to be around $461,500.
Also on Tuesday, City Council is expected to:
— give a first read to the administration’s planned usage of 2022 Community Development Block Grant and HOME federal funds.
— vote on the appointment of Robert Chapman, Chauncey Bragg, Teri Marlow, Pamela Williams Briggs and Mary Haynes to the city’s police review and community-police relations commission.
— discuss during caucus the purchase of four Dell desktop computers for $9,629.93 using ARPA revenue replacement funds. The city set aside $5 million in 2021 from its federal pandemic relief funds as allowed under the rules as “lost revenue.” If council approves the computer purchase, it will have spent $1,132,855 of those funds.
— discuss during caucus seeking bids for a roof replacement at the wastewater treatment plant and also the disposal and land application of wastewater sludge.
— discuss during caucus a 10-year lease at $1 per year with First English Lutheran Church for a parking lot at 53 Park Ave. West that will offer free downtown parking. A companion piece of legislation would allow the city to seek bids to improve the lot, creating 29 parking spaces.
— discuss during caucus allowing the city to seek bids for the construction of storm sewers on West Third Street and Linden Road to mitigate flooding. The work would be paid for from the sewer fund.
— discuss during caucus an agreement with Vital Records Control, Inc., without competitive bidding, for the storage of archived records. According to the legislation, “Due to ownership changes at the Commerce Center, the City administration has investigated multiple options for the storage of its archived records and after due dilligence has arrived at a tentative agreement with VRC for the storage and retrieval (of records).” No dollar amount is listed in the legislation.
— discuss during caucus a new contract for updated Geographical Information System base mapping, without competitive bidding. Council approved the development of a GIS system in November 2021 and the mapping “needs updated to ensure current information is established and used to make decisions on managing and improving the City’s water and sewer infrastructure.” No dollar amount is listed in the legislation.
