Staffing and maintenance on top of budget priority list in Almaden

By Monica Heger

Staffing and maintenance of community centers and libraries top the list of budget concerns in Almaden Valley.

At a May 6 District 10 budget forum, Assistant City Manager Mark Linder gave a presentation about the city manager's proposed budget, while Councilwoman Nancy Pyle and her staff gathered feedback from residents about their concerns and budget priorities.

With the recent opening of the new Almaden Library and Community Center, many participants at the forum were concerned about staffing in both sections.

"There are signs everywhere [in the new center]," said Bob Boydston, "saying they still need money for furniture and money for staff."

Bev Tempkin agreed with Boydston. "With a facility that large, the concern is covering it with staff for safety and security purposes," Tempkin said. "It has a lot of nooks and crannies, and things can happen with a staff shortage."

Tempkin said sufficient fire and police services were necessary, but she added, "to me that's a given."

Pyle said her staff would take the input received from the meeting and advocate for park maintenance and community center staffing during the budget process.

"When I do that, I have to find something else to take its place; it's a balancing act, so to speak. So I either have to find revenue or something else we can cut out," Pyle said.

Pyle said that one opportunity for revenue would be renting out space in the community center.

She added she thought the meeting was successful in giving residents a voice in the budget process.

Other residents expressed concern about the uses of the bond money from Measure P and Measure O. They said when they voted for those measures, they didn't realize they would be used for new construction as opposed to improvements to existing facilities.

Another item residents wanted to see addressed in the budget was keeping the public restrooms in Vista Park open every day.

Staffing was one issue the proposed budget addressed; for the first time in five years, the city manager proposed adding staff. A net addition of 131 positions was recommended, including 32.5 positions to support new libraries, 22.5 positions for parks and recreation facilities and about 40 positions in the public safety sector. However, no staff positions for community centers were recommended.

Closing the $34.9 million budget shortfall, while still adding 131 positions is largely dependent on the continuation of the emergency communication system support fee, which is projected to generate about $10.4 million.