“It would allow us to better fill the needs,” at the center, Simeon said of the position. “It's causing some personnel issues. The parks maintenance supervisor is filling in day to day.”
Simeon said he would have to find $12,000 within his budget to fund the difference the two salaries. The T.J. Davis supervisor position is slated to be $51,000. “I'm working on the $12,000,” he said. “I expect it to be a wash.”
Councilman Ernest Bobbitt recommended waiting another year before funding the position while Councilman Carl Ferebee asked Simeon whether he believed he could find the $12,000 in his budget.
“I'm looking through that,” Simeon said. “I don't have that answer.”
With the exception of the maintenance line, Simeon said he believed there were line items he could pull from to make the proposal work.
“I don't have a problem with that,” Councilman Wayne Smith said.
Meanwhile, Planning and Development Director Kelly Lasky reiterated the need for a city planner.
The upcoming fiscal year is going to be a major year for building permits with construction of the new Manning school, the new State Employees' Credit Union and the MaSuki Apartments in Villages at Cross Creek.
The estimated building permit fees are expected to be around $57,600 for the $19,200,000 school, she said. The estimated building permit fee for the $3 million SECU is $9,000 while the estimated building permit fee for the $13 million apartment complex is estimated to be $39,000.
Lasky said the estimates do not include other fees which will arise during construction of the projects, which total $36,759,903.49. The value of these projects tops a high in 2007 when valuation was at $36,508,350.
“If we can't get additional staff, we're going to have to look at issuing building permit quotas,” she said. “If we can't keep up with demand, we can't issue permits.”
Lasky is looking at around $54,000 to fund the planner position.
“The Manning permit would pay the planner salary the first year,” Smith said.
Lasky anticipates the remainder of this fiscal year and the upcoming fiscal year to be a strong.
A staff planner, she said in an April budget meeting, “will improve the overall efforts to achieve code compliance through active inspections to improve the community appearance and preserve property values. Funding of this position will allow the director the time needed for long-range planning efforts and department management.”
Said Mayor Emery Doughtie, “I think the community deserves to have more enforcement.”
“I think we ought to go ahead and put that on the table,” Smith said.
Ferebee said, for himself, it depends on the bottom line. “Personally, I don't have a problem with it. If the numbers are not right, I may say no. It all depends on the numbers.”
