Public Works pitches FY2027 budget, stressing pay increases and staffing to sustain services

Vicki Neichek, Public Works director, presented the department’s proposed fiscal 2027 budget and emphasized payroll changes intended to help recruit and retain frontline staff. The department, which Neichek said maintains roughly 400 miles of streets, more than 1.3 million square feet of city facilities and a fleet of over 1,000 vehicles, is asking the council to consider a proposed 3% merit increase and a matrix adjustment to improve hiring and retention.

Neichek told the council that staffing shortages are concentrated in specialized roles. “Mechanics are really, really hard to find,” she said, and CDL drivers remain difficult to hire and keep; the department has used a training agreement (CDL schooling costing about $2,900) that requires employees to remain for two years or repay training costs. Neichek and deputy director Craig Lavoy said the department has made multiple offers for single positions and sometimes waited months to fill roles.

Managers described specific operating shortfalls and modest capital requests: facilities staff requested an additional position, $75,000 to continue installing fob access systems across city buildings (installation costs vary by door), $50,000 for generator maintenance contracts and a modest inflation line for consumables. Neichek said one unfunded priority is a generator at Fleet, estimated in discussion to cost about $125,000, to ensure fueling and operations during power outages.

Neichek framed the budget as largely payroll‑driven. She said operating accounts have been reorganized in some cases (for example, moving a $7,000 fleet parts/fuel line from a labor category into a discrete parts/fuel account) and reiterated that the requested pay adjustments are “vital to our ability to hire and retain these hardworking people.”

The council asked detailed follow‑up questions about which positions are hardest to fill and the mechanics of training payback contracts; Neichek said the department has in some cases sent repayment obligations to collections when employees left before satisfying contractual terms. The meeting concluded without any vote; staff will return with budget materials for further review.

The council is expected to continue budget deliberations in subsequent sessions.