WASHINGTON — The city of Washington department heads are doing what they can to save money and cut costs, but there’s still a shortfall in the city’s budget that needs to be covered. Finding a way to manage that is causing great consternation for the city council. The council met Wednesday night for budget hearings, and for three hours listened to the various department heads describe how they’ve been spending their funds, estimate their needs for the upcoming year, and plead for no more cuts. Most of the departments’ budgets were relatively unchanged from last year, when some took aggressive cuts. “I’m quite literally operating with half the budget I started with two and a half years ago,” said Parks and Recreation Department Superintendent Dan Neeley. He said currently the parks are OK, but he can’t keep up if his budget is cut further. In his proposed budget, Neeley said he cut where he could, but the majority of his funds go to pay salaries and benefits. He said nowhere did he increase budget line items, although out of necessity he did add back two costs that were removed last year — a lawn mower and mulch for South Park and Longfellow Park. “We mow 150 acres a week,” Neeley said, explaining that they maintain the mowers well, but they get quite a workout. Lack of mulch at the parks, he said, has allowed weeds to pop up. He said having the mulch and adequate mowing equipment is a safety issue. Another issue for Neeley’s department is upcoming maintenance needs. He said there’s a list of work he’s been putting off that will have to be addressed in the not-too-distant future. For example, he said, equipment in the community building is nearing the end of its life cycle, as evidenced by the break-down of air conditioners this summer. “We have to find a way to pay for it,” he said. “That’s why I’m proposing raising fees.” He said rental fees for the facilities have remained the same for some time. The current rent for the community building is $25. The park department has to pay for utilities and supplies, such as trash bags and cleaning chemicals. Neeley proposed raising the rental fee to $100, which would allow the department to recoup some of its costs. He said many of the events held at the building raise thousands of dollars, so he didn’t think the increase would be out of line. The screened pavilion, which has water and electricity, is currently rent free, which Neeley said is unheard of in other cities. “If we charge $50 (for it), we’re breaking even,” he told the council. “These are some things we need to look at, because we’re not getting any money. We’re not trying to make a profit. We just want to break even.” The department is already running a skeleton crew, and council members acknowledged that the parks need to be maintained because they get a lot of use. They agreed with the fee increases. “I don’t see where you can cut anything unless you want to start closing parks, and I don’t think you want to do that,” said Councilman Art Biddinger. Neeley reported that Waterworld of Washington had a good first year. “We’re looking at reducing the desk staff, but we needed this year to see where we’re at,” he said, adding that the bulk of the WOW budget goes to staffing. Former Waterworld manager Beth Trousdale said there wasn’t enough rain throughout the summer to have to close the facility for an entire day. Clerk-Treasurer Elaine Wellman said the splash park receipts currently were at $37,678 plus concessions. “That’s the highest ever (for the pool) since I’ve been here,” she said. Trousdale, now manager of the Animal Control Department, said she was not in her new position when the budget was created and had just seen the proposed numbers this week. “Most of the budget is for wages out there,” she said. “One area we may look at is overtime.” She said she’d like to come to an agreement with the police department to handle some after-hours calls, when officers will be on duty anyway, but the animal control officers are not. She said she hoped animal control could limit after-hours call to vicious animals. Uniforms were cut completely from the budget, and Trousdale said that might need to be addressed, because she could see where uniforms might need some attention at some point. “I don’t see any place to make cuts,” said Mayor Larry Haag. “It’s kind of bare bones.” Transit Department Head Chuck Martindale was next to present his budget to the council. Wellman said Martindale has always applied for grants, and 70 percent of his budget is made up of grants. Department Head Ernie Evans presented his budget for the Motor Vehicle Highway Fund, Local Road and Street, and Garbage and Trash. He said he didn’t change much in his budget from last year because there were so many cuts at that time. He explained that insurance costs skyrocketed when several employees had major claims, but a better deal on salt helped balance that. The streets budget is for paving only, he said, and comes from the cigarette tax. He told council members that the department’s old equipment breaks down and fuel costs are inconsistent, so he has to have some money in the budget to be prepared for those costs when they arise. As with most other departments, the Information Technology Department budget is primarily wages. There literally was nothing in that budget to cut. According to Haag, department Head Rex Fleetwood took a lower salary than his predecessors and has really gotten the department in shape. “Some days he’s a magician,” Haag said. City attorney Jeffrey Norris said his budget is actually down from the previous year’s. His budget has only three line items. “I didn’t ask for an increase in wages, and I left litigation and travel the same,” he said. The Plan Commission, Zoning Board and City Engineer had little to no change in their budgets, but City Engineer Ed Barnett asked permission to start the search for a good used vehicle, as the department will need one in the near future. “I’ve been here long enough, and I think you gentlemen know me well enough to know there’s no fluff,” Police Chief Steve Riney said of his budget. “I’m requesting no cuts if you can see it that way.” He said more continuing education and training is mandated than in the past, and every time an officer is recertified in an area, there’s a fee. “We’re doing with what we’ve got and trying to get grants for new equipment,” he said. “I’m waiting for drug seizure money to equip a transit bus for a mobile command unit.” The chief said the department currently is one man short, and he hopes to interview for that position soon. However, the new hire will need training and have to attend the academy. He said his officers answer calls for everything from accidents to major crimes, and it’s a stretch to cover shifts when they’re short-handed. “We answered 13,750 complaints last year, and that’s not going to go down,” Riney said. Insulating city hall and reinsulating council chambers were reported to have paid off in energy savings. Fire Chief David Rhoads also is down one employee and needs to fill the position. He said shifts had been covered so far, but some employees need to take vacation time. Currently, there are eight to nine people receiving pensions, he said, but the recent turnover will eventually result in lowered pension payments as a younger workforce moves in. Overall, Rhoads said his budget hadn’t changed much. “The cuts from last year’s budget still stand,” he said. “We’ve made that work.” The fire chief said he’s hoping to get a grant for a new pumper truck, which would allow the department to use the ladder truck less, thus extending its life expectancy. The Economic Development Income Tax funds were used for sidewalks, and Cumulative Capital Development funds were used for street paving, according to those budget reports. The CCD fund was cut $20,000 for 2010. Haag said his budget mirrors the previous year’s. “With I-69 coming through, I feel like we need to keep those dollars,” he said, adding that there were no raises. “Given the dramatic changes we’ve had ... this has been one of the toughest budgets in years and years.” Wellman said the clerk-treasurer’s budget also mirrors the previous year’s. “If we were not under such hard times, I’d make a major plea for another person,” she said, explaining that her employees work very hard, but they need another part-time employee. Councilman Ralph Brummett told Wellman that her office does a great job, and the council knows how much her employees do. “On the city council budget, I’m going to make a recommendation to you guys tonight,” Wellman said. “My recommendation is, right now, all of your wages come out of the general budget. I suggest 50 percent from utilities and 50 percent from the general fund.” She said they handle a lot of utility issues, and Haag added that with the efficiencies brought to utilities, that budget has the leeway to help. At a public meeting Monday, citizens raised concerns about proposed hikes in trash pick-up, and those concerns were discussed at Wednesday’s hearings. Some of the concerns were that trash bag tags, if used, would be stolen once trash is placed outside for pick-up; that someone with one bag a week would pay the same as someone with 10 bags a week; if trash pick-up is privatized, local workers would lose their jobs; if privatization is selected, limbs and leaves wouldn’t be picked up and snow wouldn’t be removed; and so on. “There was a good turnout Monday, but we need more input,” said Councilman Allen Brown. Councilman Joe Fleck reported on some price comparisons he’d done, and the city’s proposed increase was in line with those prices. However, it didn’t address the issue of other services the city’s garbage and trash workers currently provides. In addition, a price scale would be needed to address pick-up of items such as furniture and appliances, he said. “If we have to go to the maximum of $15, we’re still doing more and cheaper,” said councilman Art Biddinger. The minimum recommended increase was $11.75. “I love that they pick up everything,” said Councilman Tom Baumert. “$11.75 isn’t a bad price, but when you’re talking about people on a fixed income, it’s a lot.” Councilman Steve Dyer weighed in with his opinion that the fairest way to handle trash pick-up is pay-as-you-go, where residents would pay per bag or item for disposal. To do that, Wellman said, brings them back to the tag method, in which homeowners would buy adhesive stickers to place on trash bags before sitting them out for pick-up. Those type of tags, Haag added, could not be stolen off the bags. “We’ve got to find a way that’s fair and equitable,” Brown said. Most people want continued full service from the city, Haag said, and they don’t understand the issues. He stressed that the city is not raising money with this fee, but is replacing funds lost through the property tax cap, or Circuit Breaker. Marilyn McCullough of Thompson Insurance also spoke to the council about options for saving money on insurance. The council will vote on the budget at its regular meeting Monday night in council chambers.