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Kalamazoo City Hall was photographed In Kalamazoo, Mich., Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016. (Bryan Bennett | MLive.com)

(Bryan Bennett)

KALAMAZOO, MI -- Heads of understaffed departments made their case for creating new jobs and restoring cut positions during a Monday work session on Kalamazoo's 2017 proposed budget.

Tom Skrobola, director of management services and the city's chief financial officer, explained to the City Commission how Kalamazoo will pay for it. The $147 million budget proposal is the first to use a priority-based budgeting model and incorporate funding from the Foundation for Excellence, a partnership with local philanthropists to reduce the city's structural deficit.

READ MORE: Click here to read the FY 2017 budget proposal

Since 2002, Kalamazoo has implemented budget reduction measures totaling $25 million. About $12 million of the cuts occurred since 2009.

Largely due to $3.8 million in foundation money and an anticipated $2 million in savings from consolidating emergency dispatch with other Kalamazoo County jurisdictions, the city is bouncing back from a trend of pervasive budget cuts.

City Manager Jim Ritsema called it a transition from surviving to thriving.

Past cuts dramatically reduced staffing in city departments. On Monday, several city officials said departments are not performing to the best of their ability.

In anticipation of the savings, department leaders expressed a need to restore eliminated positions and create new ones.

Mayor Bobby Hopewell challenged the need for most requests.

"I was the most aggressive tonight, typically I am during budget sessions," he said. "This is probably our number one responsibility. I want to make sure (city staff) are looking at all of the options and turning over every stone."

Even with 64 new full-time positions, the 2017 budget proposes a net decrease in city staff. The additions are partially offset by 110 City Metro Transit employees who transitioned to the Central County Transit Authority in October.

Only 14 would be funded through the general fund, with the rest being paid for through other funding sources.

The budget process is far from over. Another work session is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 26, though commissioners could decide to cancel it at their next business meeting.

A public hearing is scheduled during the City Commission's Jan. 3, 2017 regular business meeting and the budget is likely to be voted on by Jan. 19.

Foundation for Excellence

In October, the City Commission approved an agreement to take a philanthropic approach to solve its chronic budget challenges. A $70.3 million donation will be used during the next three years while a non-profit organization is created to manage a larger endowment fund.

The 2017 budget incorporates a property tax rate decrease from 19.275 mills to 12 mills. In 2017, $10.9 million from the foundation will replace the lost tax revenue.

The $3.8 million will go into the city's general fund to address its deficit. An additional $10 million for community-building projects is not budgeted, but will still available to use once "aspirational projects" are identified by the Imagine Kalamazoo 2025 master plan process.

Four full-time positions -- including a Foundation for Excellence coordinator and grant writer -- are included in the budget proposal.

The foundation will need to be created by Aug. 31, 2017, but City Attorney Clyde Robinson was optimistic it could be accomplished by May.

Moving forward, a work session on Jan. 23 will focus on the process of allocating foundation dollars. Ritsema also expressed a desire for the City Commission to take a retreat to in the February or March next year.

A budget amendment for 2017 projects and programs funded through the foundation would likely go before the commission in the spring, Ritsema said.

Public Safety

A majority of new staff requests came from the the Department of Public Safety and in public services departments. KDPS also accounts for 51 percent of general fund expenditures.

Chief Jeff Hadley said more officers are needed to take the strain off 212 sworn personnel who are strained to cover the workload. On any given day, Hadley said the department is missing eight to 12 officers due to sickness, on the job injuries, maternity leave and a variety of other reasons.

The department spent an additional $600,000 on overtime in 2016. Some officers were called in to work up to 25 days straight.

"It's created significant stress on the organization and individuals," Hadley said.

Sixteen new full-time public safety officers are budgeted for next year, in addition to a lieutenant and public information officer. Just adding one additional officer to each shift among the department's four platoons would offset much of the need for officers to work overtime, Hadley said.

In order to have a 24/7 police presence, Bronson Methodist Hospital also requested two additional officers, bringing its total to four. Bronson would be responsible for funding the positions if approved.

The other new officers will be partially funded through grants and savings from the Kalamazoo County Consolidated Dispatch Authority.

Hadley also requested a deputy fire marshal to assist the city's lone marshal.

Finally, a full-time public information officer was requested to increase the department's social media presence and respond to an increased demand in information from the public and news media.

Public Services

Public Services Director James Baker said his department struggles to keep up with the city's aging infrastructure, which requires constant maintenance and upkeep. The work piles on during incidents of extreme weather.

He had a recent example.

"This weekend we had three water mains break on us," Baker said. "We were halfway through that and the snow started to fly. The same crews fixing the water mains are guys who plow snow. Everyone who responded to that were called in (and) were running 12 hour shifts to deal with the snow."

Crews were constantly working to repair the mains and plow snow throughout the weekend, Baker said.

Baker requested 20 new full-time staff, split between water and waste water divisions, and an additional 10 public works staff were requested.

Increased capital investment is needed to replace 114 miles of decades-old cast iron water mains on Kalamazoo's water system. The mains will need to be replaced by 2039, after which the mains will begin to break at a rapid rate.

Baker said the department will also focus on investment in individual neighborhoods. In 2017, he plans to finish neighborhood traffic studies, take a more proactive role in addressing street lighting needs and continue replacing lead service lines in the city.

Future long-term projects include exploring flood control options on Portage and Axtell creeks. Portage Creek becomes especially troublesome when it floods, Baker said, because it isolates neighborhoods and cuts off major transportation routes to local hospitals.

Other departments

The addition of an assistant attorney, records manager, financial analyst, administrative assistant and buyer was proposed to support administrative departments.

Two additional parks coordinators are being sought to reduce overtime and contractual service expenses for the Department of Parks and Recreation.

A youth development coordinator would also work to increase summer camps and youth employment programs.

The Department of Community Planning and Development is seeking a neighborhood planner to turn smaller-scale wants identified by residents in the Imagine Kalamazoo 2025 process into action. One position related to community development and two related to code enforcement were also requested.

Seven information technology staff were proposed to help research long-term cost reduction projects, address an increasing demand for data storage and security and implement large-scale projects.