Goshen mayor pitches central Buildings and Grounds department to save costs

The mayor of Goshen outlined a proposal to create a centralized Buildings and Grounds department that would combine cemetery operations, environmental resilience, building maintenance and grounds functions to streamline purchasing, cross-train staff and reduce costs.

The proposal, described by the mayor (speaker S5) during the Goshen Cemetery Board meeting, frames the change as similar to the city's earlier consolidation of vehicle maintenance into a central garage. "There were opportunities of scale by having a centralized mechanic shop," the mayor said, arguing the same logic applies to buildings and grounds to reduce duplication in equipment and personnel costs.

Why it matters: the city is facing tight finances and staff shortages that have pushed some services to contract out. The mayor and staff cited a projected budget shortfall of about $5,000,000 within a few years, and said consolidation could help stretch limited resources while preserving specialized cemetery work.

Cemetery staff member Bert (speaker S2) gave examples of cross-training already underway, saying two full-time employees trained in tree pruning this spring and later supported other departments during peak work. He said the model could allow staff to be temporarily assigned to other city duties in slow cemetery seasons, such as snow plowing, which could make seasonal hiring more sustainable.

Board members emphasized caution. The mayor and staff repeatedly said cemetery-specific needs would remain under cemetery control and that any structural changes would be phased to avoid disrupting specialized operations. "Any areas of operation that are unique to cemeteries will continue to operate under our control," S2 said, underscoring the intent to preserve technical cemetery practices.

Next steps: staff described further analysis and mapping to determine how lines of responsibility would fall and said the council would need to approve any changes that affect fees or budgets. No formal action was taken at this meeting; the discussion was presented as an outline for future planning.