Coming to a street near you

Our new plows will be on the road this winter, making our plowing operations safer and more efficient. If you happen to see one of the guys, give him a wave (rather than shaking your shovel at them). They are taking time away from their families at all hours of the day and night to make sure you get to where you need to go safely.

Mayor Miller addresses reasons behind the new consolidated DPW building

As has been recently reported the Common Council recently voted to begin the design and construction process for a new combined Public Works facility. This decision came after several years of deliberation and studies that assessed the current building and reviewed alternatives and options related to the future of the building. Obviously, a large expenditure by the Common Council in this environment is one that needs to be completely justified, and carefully considered. I can say without a doubt that this decision while difficult, received the careful thought it deserved. The obvious question that many in the community have, is – Is this facility needed? I can say without a doubt, that the answer to that question is an emphatic yes.

I understand that many people are not aware of the details that every member of the Common Council received. Therefore, I thought I would share with you some of the factors that influenced our decision. The Common Council and I assessed several factors, including functionality, durability, compliance to codes, operating costs and image. The existing DPW facilities are deficient in all of these areas. Among other items, our current building has the following defects:

• Concrete aprons and stoops throughout the building have settled substantially, leading to cracks, trip hazards, and gaps between the floor and walls.
• The brick façade has scattered areas of spalling brick faces, stress cracking at the corners and severe staining from weatherization.
• Metal panels are corroding at the seams and at locations of exposed fasteners.
• Windows are missing screens, many have failing seals, and water is infiltrating the building through the windows in most areas.
• The foundation is moving due to soil settling and poor soils.
• Gaps exist throughout the building between the metal walls and the foundation
• Numerous leaks exist throughout the building due to the roof leaks, caused by the movement of the building.
• Water leaks into an electrical panel due to infiltration from outside walls.
• The existing sprinkler heads need to be replaced due to their life expectancy.
• Numerous safety issues exist throughout the building, increasing the risk of injury to our employees.

One of the options the city considered was remodeling the current structure. The estimate we received to bring the building up to standards, while making no additional improvements to the efficiency nor addressing the space needs of the Department of Public Works, was between $1.2 and $1.9 million.  While at first glance this would be an attractive option, unfortunately it would only be a stop gap measure that would extend the life of the building slightly, putting the city in this same position in less than ten years. Additionally, the remodeling work on the building is very difficult to estimate due to the challenges of working with older, budget-oriented construction. The other factor that will have a huge impact on the cost is the way this type of renovation work grows into a major project.  Quite frankly, it just didn’t make sense when looking at our needs over time and would have likely resulted in substantially higher costs to the taxpayer over the long term.

The new facility, when completed will serve our needs for the foreseeable future, and brings with it several operating efficiencies that will benefit our city for many years. Among them include:

• An estimated $137,500 in utility savings over five years due to the closing of two inefficient buildings and the construction of one well insulated, energy efficient building.
• An estimated $74,000 in saving in moving to a managed vehicle fleet system at the new DPW campus.
• An estimated $46,000 in overtime savings through joint training, cross-training employees, and increased collaboration between departments.

As we move forward, as Mayor, I am always committed to watching the bottom line and ensuring that tax dollars are spent prudently. I am proud to say that the average city tax bill has increased less than $8 over the last two years, while the city dealt with large budget cuts from the state and virtually no growth, while preserving all city services and ensuring our employees kept their jobs. Working with the Common Council I am sure we will continue on to take this conservative approach as long as I serve as Mayor.

For those of you who have questions, please feel free to give me a call at 262.763.6493 if you would like more details. Additionally, all the reports the Common Council received regarding the building are now up on the city’s website at www.burlington-wi.gov.

Update on Proposed Budget

We just sent out the latest numbers on the proposed City Budget to the Common Council today. I am pleased to report that some positive progress has been made in regards to our tax levy and tax rate going into next year. As it stands today, the 2010 tax rate will decrease to $7.49 per $1,000 of valuation, that is down from $7.52 per $1,000 of assessed value this year. The overall levy increase is projected to be 1.9 percent. We originally proposed a 3 percent levy increase.  The tax rate is going down because assessed value overall increased slightly throughout Burlington. A small drop in values was expected.

Overall spending is increasing less than 1/2 of a percent over the 2009 budget, while keeping all the services we currently enjoy in place. I compliment our staff on these efforts, as they have really responded to the call to keep expenses in check for two years in a row.

The Public Hearing on the budget is scheduled for Tuesday, November 17th. The Committee of the Whole begins at 6:30 p.m. with the Common Council meeting being scheduled immediately following the conclusion of the Committee of the Whole Meeting.