OREM -- The City Council received the proposed budget for fiscal year 2001 Tuesday that includes money to hire a new city public information official and two new public works technicians, as well as fund an average 3.5 percent pay increase for employees.
The budget holds the line on taxes and most fees, but it does include an increase for residential garbage collection. Residents will pay about $1 per month more for the first can of their trash to be hauled away."We're throwing away either more garbage or heavier garbage," said City Manager Jim Reams, attributing the fee increase to inflation, higher charges at the solid waste transfer station and the upswing in the weight of Orem residents' trash.
But trash wasn't on the minds of most city officials and residents who discussed the budget Tuesday night. Instead, they wanted to talk about Orem's employees and their salaries.
While introducing the budget figures, which total $31.3 million in the general fund (about 1.8 percent more than the current budget), Reams called Orem's personnel "lean and mean" and said the city "does more with less" in terms of staff. In recent years, the increase in the size of city staff has not kept up with population growth, he said, and the city has used technology to make up the difference.
But one resident disagreed that Orem does more with less and charged instead that Orem simply does less.
Lyman Durfee said a $70,000 allocation for salary and benefits to hire a new public information officer, who would oversee the city's newsletters and World Wide Web page, would be better spent in another area. Particularly, he said, Orem is short on code enforcement officers who could crack down on the city's numerous illegal basement apartments.
"Every time we call the city about problems, they say, 'We've got it on file but we don't have the personnel to do anything about it,' " Durfee said.
In a departure from the usual, Durfee and resident Paul Washburn called on the City Council to increase the city's portion of the property tax to hire more employees and pay them better salaries. Washburn said Orem's employees are underpaid and could soon stress out.
Orem salary figures obtained by the Deseret News indicate employee salaries are in line with neighboring Provo. The median salary for Orem's 369 salaried employees is $37,968 annually. For Provo's 595 salaried employees, the median is $38,495.
About 70 percent of Orem's general fund budget goes to pay salaries, wages and benefits for full-time, part-time and seasonal employees.
Reams, the city's highest-paid employee at $96,024 per year, said Orem's portion of employees' insurance premiums was projected to increase by 30 percent next year. But the city negotiated that down to a 9 percent increase, he said.
Reams also promised that Orem would reorganize its staff to increase the number of code enforcement officials available to answer complaints about illegal apartments and other violations.
"We do have the staff, and we will go out to investigate when we're called," he said.
Resident Bob Wright complained about money allocated for members of the City Council and Planning Commission to travel to training conferences.
Although Wright called the trips "vacation travel" and "junkets," several City Council members defended the conferences as useful for their jobs.
Although not included in the budget, a citywide street lighting system also will have to be paid for beginning this year.
Reams warned the City Council it will have to re-open the budget in about four months to make provisions for the $7 million lighting program.
Reams recommended that the initial cost of purchasing the lights and poles be funded through issuance of 20-year revenue bonds. Debt repayments for the bonds will cost each Orem household about $2.75 per month.
The ongoing costs of operating the lights would be funded through an increase in the franchise tax that would cost each household an additional $1.25 per month.
The council did not make a decision on the street light funding. A display of several street-light options will be set up in the next two weeks along 800 East, and the council will later decide which lights to purchase and how to pay for them.
You can reach Edward L. Carter by e-mail at carter@desnews.com