Little Rock department directors have wish lists that total almost $22 million for additional operations and capital improvements next year, the Board of Directors learned at a first-of-its-kind budget retreat last week.
In reality, the city won't be able to take on near that amount of new expenses in 2016, City Manager Bruce Moore said.
"What I'm doing is prioritizing, and I'll come back to you. I wanted the board to see what the real needs are. We will get it addressed in a prioritized fashion," Moore said. "Again, this is just a wish list -- things to talk about. You won't see a lot of these back."
The requests include additional staff members, supplies, vehicles, equipment and buildings. The total represents 11 percent of the current city budget of $193,587,211. The 2015 budget was a $3.7 million increase over 2014.
Department directors presented an overview of their departments' duties to the board at Friday's meeting, which began at 8 a.m. and ended about 5:45 p.m. with the Fleet Services, Police and City Attorney departments still left to report.
The board will meet with staff members of those three departments at 4 p.m. on Sept. 22 at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History.
Friday's budget retreat was a first for Little Rock.
Board members requested the session after being frustrated in the past two years after receiving the drafted budgets for the next year in late November or early December. Because budgets have to be approved by Dec. 31, board members said that didn't give them enough time to make recommendations or changes.
A lack of up-to-date tax revenue data prevented Moore from presenting a proposed 2016 budget Friday, he said. Instead, each department gave a breakdown of how the current budget is allocated and a "wish list" for 2016.
The most expensive requests were from the Fire Department, which has 415 employees. Its wants include $5.8 million of additional capital assets, including almost $2 million to replace self-contained breathing apparatuses -- which allow firefighters to breath while inside burning buildings or other dangerous environments -- and about $3.7 million to construct a fire station in southwest Little Rock. That construction is scheduled to start in 2016.
The Fire Department also is seeking another $279,000 for operation costs. That mostly will cover the cost of new positions required for the department to be accredited.
The smallest wish list was from the Community Programs Department, which is the city's smallest department as determined by the number of staff members who operate it.
Community Programs requested $30,000 to start a pilot Juvenile Diversion program that would work with the Police Department and Little Rock School District to reduce youth crimes. That amount would cover the administration cost of running the program.
Vice Mayor and Ward 5 City Director Lance Hines said when prioritizing the departments' requests for next year's budget, the city should look at efficiency savings in addition to the cost.
"Because we are not efficient. I can say that because surely every organization can improve their efficiency, and that's what we need to focus on. We need to come back and show what the projected savings in personnel time, overtime, etc., are if we" decide to invest in any new operation or capital improvement, Hines said.
Some department directors used Friday to highlight coming changes.
One that Moore is excited about is an overhaul of the city's 311 system, where residents can call in complaints or send service requests online. The system is used when trash hasn't been picked up on time, there are potholes in the road or debris litters a city park, for example.
Right now, a person gets an email with a report number after sending in a request. With the upgrade, scheduled to be rolled out in November, people will have access to a mobile app to send in requests and will get text messages on the requests' status.
"We started 311 in 2004. It's the same system. I just said, 'there has to be a better way of doing this.' So this is a system that's going to be hosted outside of the city. I looked at Austin, I looked at a lot of different cities, and this is what they are doing," Moore said.
There have been many complaints from residents and board members about the time it takes to complete 311 requests.
"Right now it's kind of like a black hole," Ward 7 City Director B.J. Wyrick said. "They report it, and they sit there and wait for someone to appear or not appear. And that's where we all [on the board] get phone calls, because no one showed up or they don't know the status. From a customer standpoint, I think that's really poor."
Moore assured her that responsiveness would be a focus of the upgrade.
"I knew it was a problem, and I think I've found a solution, and I think you all will be a lot better pleased with the new system," he said.
Metro on 09/13/2015