It was standing room only for public comments at Fort Mitchell’s annual budget meeting on Monday, where groups of local residents came out to voice their opinions on a proposed sidewalk project on Cherrywood Drive.
The city council chambers at the city building will serve as a polling site for Tuesday’s primary election, so residents and council members could not hold the meeting there. Instead, everyone moved into the adjacent fire bay for public comments, which were followed by a brief recess before the council relocated to the basement to discuss the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
Many of the residents were opposed to the sidewalk project, and comments from Mayor Jude Hehman indicated that the city would likely not pursue the project. No official votes on the matter were cast at the meeting.
“I am presenting council tonight a budget that does not have the sidewalks in it,” Hehman said at the beginning of the meeting. His comment elicited applause from the meeting attendees.
Before the meeting, residents had circulated a petition asking community members to oppose the sidewalks. The petition had garnered about about 60 signatures by the time of the meeting. Many of the attendees felt the sidewalks weren’t necessary or that the proposed engineering specifications didn’t make sense.
One representative comment from resident Roger Kuchle, for instance, suggested that the area’s lack of thru traffic didn’t warrant sidewalks.
“We have walkers throughout the day,” Kuchle said. “We observe two or three people walking side by side, all talking. If we had sidewalks then you walk in one after the other, and I don’t think it’s appropriate at all to have sidewalks. There’s no thru traffic.”
Other comments expressed similar views, but at least two of the meeting attendees were in favor of sidewalks.
The first was Beechwood Elementary student Brett Pfaehler, who had surveyed her classmates and found that they were largely in favor of sidewalks. She shared the results of her survey with the attendees.
The other was Bob Kaiser, who has a daughter who uses a wheelchair. He argued that a lack of sidewalks makes it difficult for people who use wheelchairs or have other mobility issues to get around safely.
“If you don’t have sidewalks, you’re zig-zagging through traffic,” Kaiser told LINK nky after the public comments section had concluded.
The meeting recessed after public comments ended, and most of the residents who had come out to speak left upon the recess. The council members and other officials then moved down to the building’s lower floor to discuss the budget.
The budget presented at Monday’s meeting was preliminary, said City Administrator Edwin King in a phone call to LINK nky after the meeting, so the figures presented therein would likely change before a vote is cast.
Monday’s draft budget showed total expenses for all city funds slightly exceeding revenues by about $900. King and City Treasurer Amy Guenther said that this was likely due to expenses associated with planned road projects for the upcoming year rather than a broad increase in operating expenditures. Documents furnished by the city corroborate this: The general fund–from which the city draws its operating budget–projections showed revenues exceeding expenditures: approximately $10.9 million to $9.5 million, respectively.
King said that they “plan to have a balanced budget,” emphasizing that the presented figures were all preliminary. In addition, statements from council members at the meeting suggested they were not worried for the city’s financial health. Some even complimented city staff on their efforts to be fiscally conservative.
Notable changes and additions to the proposed budget include the following:
- A 5% increased allocation for raises among city employees, which would be based on merit
- A 4% increase in revenue from insurance premium taxes
- A 50% increase in city medical insurance costs--City Administrator Edwin King attributed this to the city's current carrier ceasing its consumer coverage service, inducing the city to seek coverage elsewhere
- Increased cash incentives for retired police and fire rehires to waive the city's health insurance
- $19,000 for six license plate reading cameras for the police department
- $125,000 for a new dump truck for the Public Works Department
- Two new police cruisers
- A new police dog; the police will likely seek donations to offset this expense
- Various road and resurfacing projects
- Several replacement computers for city staff
- $30,000 for improved street lighting and signage throughout the city
Two things that were discussed but likely won't be included in the upcoming budget were HVAC repairs for the city building and a possible raise for the mayor, which wouldn't take effect until after the next election cycle. The council seemed supportive of the latter item, but no action was taken to add this to the budget at the meeting.
"This might be the easiest budget I think I've ever gone through," said Council Member Greg Pohlgeers.
The council will perform a first reading of next year's proposed budget at their meeting on June 3. They will perform a second reading and cast a vote on the budget at the meeting on June 24. Both meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Fort Mitchell City Building on Dixie Highway.
