Committee reviews 2027 parks budget, KPIs and planned robotic‑mower purchases

Parks staff presented the 2027 operating-budget briefing and described organizational structure, key performance indicators and capital priorities. Staff said the parks division runs lean—three full-time employees plus seasonal help and LTEs—and outlined an administrative reorganization to improve data and supervisory capacity.

"The robotic mowers will be coming online via CIP and then only after next season will we be able to shift that labor," the parks planner said, describing an intent to use robotics to reduce mowing hours and redirect staff toward maintenance, ADA accessibility and invasive-species work. Staff said they currently track an unspent non-labor balance and aim to improve the expenditure rate and other KPIs.

The package included a breakdown of assets and 2027 budget requests; staff highlighted deferred trail maintenance as a major threat and discussed highway-collaboration projects that supply labor and equipment for larger tasks. Tanya (staff) described planned service-drive work to improve machine access at Natureland and to support invasive-species removal.

Committee members asked for demonstrations of the robotic mower and for clearer budget tables in future packets. Staff said they will bring more detailed KPI reporting and may schedule a demo for the committee next season.