Despite council reaching consensus on several recommendations during a work session this evening, City Manager Joseph Scherer said he was still looking at the budget remaining at $14.9 million with no tax increase proposed.
(City council is expected to consider the budget for approval at its 7 p.m. meeting Tuesday at the Lloyd Andrews City Meeting Hall)
He said during the work session the city will not fund two new drug officers for the police department in the upcoming budget.
One of the biggest topics of discussion during the meeting centered around whether to provide $30,000 in funding for 28 body cameras for officers. These cameras attach to an officer's uniform and provide coverage beyond in-car camera systems.
“It's actually an insurance policy,” police Chief Thomas Hathaway said.
With in-car cameras there is a gap when an officer walks away from the range of those systems. “With body cameras you have real time face to face interaction. It gives the city an insurance policy if there is wrongdoing against an officer.”
Councilwoman Carl Cowen, however, said she was leery of spending that amount of money of relatively new technology.
Instead, council recommended that the city start out with eight of the cameras at a cost of $8,000. The city will fully fund new in-car cameras, which have digital technology instead of using VHS tapes, at $30,000.
The proposed budget includes $5,000 for what was the former Opportunity Clean Sweep program, which addresses nuisance problems within the city.
It will include $7,000 for handheld radios in the public works department and a new ice machine for Kirkwood Adams, which Parks and Recreation Director John Simeon said no longer works. “It will help increase its usage as a rental place,” Scherer said.
The recreation department will also be able to buy a new floor-cleaning machine for T.J. Davis and a front-end attachment for one of its tractors.
Another discussion topic during the work session was whether to fully fund physicals for firefighters. The original proposal was to only fund physicals for the four oldest firefighters.
The physical program, fire Chief Stacy Coggins said, has been in place for 15 years and is part of an overall wellness program within the fire department. “If something happens, they're going to want to know what measures we have in place.”
Councilwoman Suetta Scarbrough said, “Unless you've seen them train, you have no idea of what strenuous training they go through.”
Council recommended fully funding physicals for all firefighters at $8,000. They also recommended keeping in $13,310 to fund part-time positions at the Roanoke Canal Museum.
The budget continues to have $177,576.42 allocated for a 3 percent cost of living adjustment for all employees.
