Jefferson City Public Works Department outlines its budget

In this Oct. 1, 2018 photo, Gerrit Shirts spreads an asphalt mixture on Dunklin Street between Washington and Broadway streets during an initial part of a street overlay project.
In this Oct. 1, 2018 photo, Gerrit Shirts spreads an asphalt mixture on Dunklin Street between Washington and Broadway streets during an initial part of a street overlay project.

The Jefferson City Budget Committee continued its annual budget process Monday evening by reviewing the proposed budgets of eight Jefferson City Public Works divisions.

The Jefferson City Memorial Airport has a proposed Fiscal Year 2020 budget of $493,116. FY2020 begins Nov. 1.

The city usually transfers general fund money into the airport fund, Public Works Director Matt Morasch added.

The division's goal for 2020 is flood recovery, Morasch told the Jefferson City Budget Committee on Monday. The airport was closed for about seven weeks due to flooding.

Last week, city staff recommended the city demolish the airport terminal, which was damaged in the flood. Morasch said he thinks insurance will help cover the cost to demolish the building.

The city was able to repair the air traffic control tower, Morasch said. He added he hopes the city will receive grant funding to repair other flood damages.

The proposed FY2020 budget was submitted before the tornado and flooding so many of the budget numbers "are just not accurate even as an estimate," City Administrator Steve Crowell said. The airport will see a decrease in flowage fee and lease revenue due to the flooding.

"It's hard to even estimate what the impact will be with those kind of things," Crowell said.

The airport division submitted four pink sheets, for a total of $140,307. None of the items were funded in the mayor-approved budget.

The requested items were to reclassify the airport maintenance worker to a crew leader as well as replacing a John Deere tractor, zero-turn mower and utility vehicle.

The Public Works street division has a proposed FY2020 budget of nearly $3.36 million.

The division submitted 12 pink sheets - a total of $758,000. None of them were funded in the mayor-approved budget.

The pink sheets were for three replacement 1-ton heavy-duty trucks, a 3/4-ton replacement truck, a replacement street sweeper, a portable hot water pressure washer, a street marking/paint truck, two replacement 3/4-ton service body trucks, replacement 1/2-ton maintenance pickup, replacement inspection pickup and replacement street lights.

Due to the tornado and flooding, Morasch said, the division is behind on street repairs.

"Obviously we had the big tornado and that took a lot of manpower, considerable manpower," he said. "We basically shifted everybody from streets and stormwater to the tornado, took wastewater people; we had people from other cities helping us. We were way behind but we're back at it now and, of course, the flood has taken a toll but we're off that."

The wastewater division's proposed budget is nearly $12 million.

The division submitted seven pink sheet items, which were funded in the mayor-approved budget. The pink sheets totaled more than $1.34 million.

The largest request was for $676,000 to replace the Indian Hills pump station, which is currently 40 years old. The pumps and equipment are beyond their reliable life and the lower end of the PVC force main has failed twice in the last 15 years, according to the pink sheet.

The division also requested two replacement 3/4-ton pickup truck crew cab 4x4, a replacement RWRF bar screen, a replacement radio telemetry units phase 1, a replacement plant maintenance truck and a replacement jetter truck.

The Public Works Department's central maintenance division has a proposed budget of more than $1.13 million.

The department submitted three pink sheet items for the division, none of which were funded in the mayor-approved budget. The pink sheets were for a replacement vehicle maintenance lift, new mechanic position and replacement shop truck - a total of $116,638.

The division's goal for 2020 is to maintain an aging fleet at a high level, Morasch said. He added older equipment requires more maintenance.

The parking division has a proposed FY2020 budget of $905,308.

One of the division's goal for 2020 is to develop opportunities for additional parking in the downtown area, as well as increase the maintenance of exiting lots and garages, Morasch said.

The Public Works engineering division has a proposed budget of more than $1.14 million.

The department submitted three pink sheets for the division, and none of them were funded in the mayor-approved budget. The requests were for an inspection pickup and two staff vehicles - a total of $84,000.

The transit division's proposed budget is more than $2.52 million.

The Public Works administration division has a proposed FY2020 budget of $379,264.

The overall proposed mayor-approved budget for FY2020 is more than $65.1 million. The general fund budget for FY2020 is more than $32.9 million.

The budget committee will continue its yearly budget review process at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, 320 E. McCarty St.