Hastings mayor and city council retreat
HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) - Lochland Country Club hosted the annual Hastings Mayor and City Council Retreat on Sunday.
“This gives council a chance to hear from department heads on issues they select and it’s a good way to look forward as we head into the budget season, so it helps identify priorities for the budget season,” said Mayor Corey Stutte.
The agenda included the following:
- Budget priorities for 2022-2023
- City Hall condition
- Reorganizations
- Staffing needs (Assistant City Attorney, Fire Dept., Development Services, HU, Police)
- Quiet crossings
- ERP Status
- East Side Blvd. planning
- Citizens request for public records
- Delegated Authority
- Additional reporting from Development Services
- Concerns dealing with staff regarding permits, codes and compliance issues
- ARPA Funds
There was talk about how requests have gone up for city funding. Some examples include the need for police cars, ambulance and a new dump truck.
City Hall updates were included such as mold removal and carpet cleaning - the consensus was made that they need to look at the next step in this process.
Staffing needs addressed the fact that the Electric Department needs two more lineman, the Fire Department wants to ensure eight people on each shift rather than seven, and the police department is asking for two more. Each department does not want to have their staff face burn-out. Some more positions being considered is a Storm Water Tech., Director of Safety, Chief Security Officer, and an Assistant City Attorney. The assistant City Attorney would possibly be a temporary succession plan after the current retires.
Another discussion was on public records requests. There has been an up-tick in the requests which has caused the city to outsource, to be able to use staff time efficiently. He said that there’s certainly a cost and resource issue that’s associated with public records requests. The city has has at least one request per day over the past few weeks.
Lastly, there was a discussion about ARPA funds. Mayor Stutte mentioned that there have been a few submissions from the community on how to use them. The city has until December 2024 to obligate them and until 2026 to spend it. There was mention how this is an opportunity to benefit the entire community and it sounds like that’s where it’s headed.
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