'Service Reductions' and 'Unmet Needs'

Each General Fund department was asked to propose potential cuts to departmental budgets to be considered by public and city officials. In addition, each department was also asked to prioritize needs that are currently unmet within their department responsibilities and to propose budgetary additions for public and managerial consideration.

City Department*	Proposed Cuts	Unmet Needs
Parks and Recreation	$994,000	$2,141,000
Health and Human Services	482,000	2,501,000
Police	3,391,000	3,382,500
Fire	2,104,000	1,846,500
EMS	674,000	2,496,000
Library	993,000	518,500
Municipal Court	120,000	257,500
Planning & Development Review	120,000	859,000
Code Compliance	-	716,000
Total for All Departments	$8,878,000	$14,718,000

* Not listed are $434,000 in cuts to support services and $4.4 million in needs for support services and fleet services, bringing cuts to $9.3 million, needs to $19.2 million.

The 'Service Reductions' List

Proposed cuts to the departmental budgets

Parks and Recreation	$994,000
Suspend Trail of Lights	374,000	Postpone holiday festival indefinitely
End event fee waivers	404,000	End Parks support for special events
Reduce underused pool hours	106,000	Two pools close; shorter hours for 24 pools
End supervised play programs	110,000	11 of 26 site programs end
Health and Human Services	$482,000
Cut neighborhood liaison	53,000	One position = 33% of services in target area
Cut vacant family health position	75,000	For teen pregnancy prevention program
Cut HIV services funding	123,500	Reduce various HIV response programs
Cut vacant Hep C nurse position	71,000	Affects field survey and management programs
Cut vacant sanitarian position	63,000	Affects restaurant inspection staffing
Cut Kids Exchange program	28,500	Affects child custodial supervision
Cut CAN administration funding	68,000	Affects Community Action Network planning
Police	$3,391,000
Reduce video traffic monitoring	40,000	Affects monitoring collisions and stalls
Reduce sworn overtime	1,200,000	Affects targeted crime hot spots
Reduce temp call takers	700,000	Nonemergency lines from 24 to 12 hours
Cut property crime technician	51,000	Affects property crime evidence processing
Delay 2011 cadet class one year	1,400,000	Affects overall police staffing
Fire	$2,104,000
Cut County Fire Training Academy	33,000	Funds support trainee salaries
Cut LBJ Fire Academy	118,000	Affects minority recruitment
Cut fire specialist position	110,000	Public education position (fire drills, safety, etc.)
Convert two fire units to med	905,000	Most calls medical; possible response reduction
Cut two special personnel	230,000	One captain and one lieutenant in support position
Cut communications captain	116,000	One of three positions in communications; affects public info
Cut investigations staff	592,000	Five positions in arson investigations
EMS	$674,000
Cut billing supervisor position	60,000	Affects claims, billing
Cut vacant paramedic position	79,000	Affects overall response time and care
Cut education program overtime	130,000	Online classes, on-duty training
Reduce ACC recruit program	245,000	Cuts five vacant cadet positions, tuition
Cut vacant deputy med. dir. pos.	160,000	Currently three part-time temp positions
Library	$993,000
Reduce central library hours	131,000	Cut eight hours per week
Reduce evening branch hours	352,000	Close branches one hour earlier
Reduce morning branch hours	355,000	Open branches one hour later
Reduce book budget	155,000	Current $2.83 per resident, below comparable cities
Municipal Court	$120,000
Cut substance abuse services	22,000	Cut four to five patients from program
Eliminate HR specialist	58,000	HR rep for 172 employees
Cut pay to nonserving jurors	40,000	Would end $6 payment
Planning & Development Review	$120,000
Cut vacant inspection position	120,000	Tech advice to construction inspectors
Total for All Departments	$8,878,000

The 'Unmet Needs' List

Proposed additions to departmental budgets

Parks and Recreation	$2,141,000
Downtown parks maintenance	688,000	Additional crews and resources for 11 parks
Facility and pool maintenance	521,000	General maintenance, pools and parks
Neighborhood park maintenance	932,000	General maintenance, seven sites
Health and Human Services	$2,501,000
Internal audit and accreditation	250,000	Contract management and public health accreditation
Anti-truancy initiatives	101,000	Truancy staff and student mobility case management
Homeless services funding	150,000	Services for chronically homeless
Innovative Solutions	2,000,000	Funding pool for nonprofit engagement
Police	$3,382,500
SXSW funding	120,000	Additional police presence at Festival
Contract/commodity increases	309,000	Miscellaneous expenses
Crime analyst and forensic staff	125,000	a) anti-terrorism; b) DWI analysis
Civilian support FTEs	230,000	15 miscellaneous positions
35 new officers (various ranks)	2,376,000	Force expansion
Additional psychologist	123,500	Officer counseling
Center for Child Protection	99,000	Two family advocate positions
Fire	$1,846,500
Four-person staffing	916,000	Accelerate four-person staffing scheduled for 2019 to 2011
Meet state equipment standards	513,000	Resources and staff – new state requirements
Cadet recruitment	131,500	Extend current recruitment contract
Business operations and prevention	286,000	Various facilities and inspection staffing
EMS	$2,496,000
Two new units (northeast)	2,073,000	Improve area response to population growth
Electronic patient data staffing	382,000	Currently staffed by uniformed EMT
Warehousing and logistics	41,000	One stores specialist to replace temps
Library	$518,500
Delivery staff and vans	181,500	Response to increased delivery demand
Temporary employees	250,000	Restore formerly dedicated temp funds
Downloadable materials	87,000	Establish ongoing digital collection
Municipal Court	$257,500
Administrative judge (10 hours/wk)	20,500	Relieve court paperwork backlog
Three staff positions	172,000	Two case managers and one clerk assistant
Rehab housing program	65,000	Expand rehab recovery housing time
Planning & Development Review	$859,000
Information & enterprise manager	83,000	Data and digital plan management, info systems
Support staff	254,000	Finance, HR, and administrative staff
Senior planners	522,000	Additional planners for miscellaneous services
Code Compliance	$716,000
Compliance assistance funding	100,000	Grants for qualifying homeowners
Four compliance inspectors	493,000	Increased demand and commercial review
Community liaison inspector	123,000	Work with nonprofits for clients with special needs
Total for All Departments	$14,718,000