Employee pay raises, stormwater improvements highlight fiscal 2023 budget proposal

Employee pay raises, stormwater improvements, new space for public works and an order for two new fire engines highlight the proposed budget for fiscal 2023.

Vestavia Hills City Manager Jeff Downes presented his proposed statement to the Vestavia Hills City Council on Aug. 22, with the full budget set to be placed on the city website sometime in the future. The council must pass a budget before the end of September.

The fiscal 2023 budget projects an increase of more than 11% in revenues compared to fiscal 2022’s budget. The dollar amount is about $58 million, a roughly $6.1 million increase from fiscal 2022’s budget.

Still, in an effort to be conservative, the amount budgeted for revenues is equal, not greater than, the actual projected revenues from the current fiscal year, Downes said.

Employee raises highlight the proposal, in an effort to hire needed workers and help employees during an inflationary period, Downes said.

Proposals include the city absorbing a projected 5% increase in the cost of health insurance, an across-the-board cost-of-living adjustment of 5% for all employees, with an extra 2.5% for public safety employees, the creation of an executive pay plan to allow for a one-step merit increase for department heads and assistants and the continuation of longevity pay and merit increases for eligible employees.

This year’s budget also includes an investment of $740,000 in stormwater infrastructure, a major increase from the current year’s investment of $150,000. It also includes increased costs for fuel, as well as the lease for a new public works maintenance building.

While the city won’t pay for them this year, an order for two new fire engines is also included in the budget, due to “unacceptable manufacturer-related fleet maintenance concerns,” Downes said.

New positions to be created within the city include a chief of building maintenance and an assistant city manager, who will assist with communication, economic development and “other strategic focus areas,” Downes said in the statement.

Downes said there could be a public hearing either Sept. 6 or 7 on the budget.

The council also approved an intergovernmental agreement with Jefferson County, which authorizes the city to receive $1.5 million each of the next two fiscal years to offset the city’s cost of infrastructure improvements coinciding with The Bray development in Liberty Park.

In other business, the council:

Approved the rezoning of 3912 Wooten Drive from medium-density residential to general business district. There is an existing business, Mountain Heights Lawn Care, on the property.

Postponed a vote on an alcohol license request by Chuck E. Cheese, which has reorganized through bankruptcy. The case was postponed due to a representative of the company not being present.

Items to be voted on at an upcoming meeting include the final 10% of fiscal 2022’s budget, the new budget, pay raises for employees and new design services and construction plans for the pedestrian bridge over U.S. 31.

The new design services, created by Gresham Smith, will cost about $256,000, with the city on the hook for 20% of the costs, with the Birmingham Metropolitan Planning Organization paying the rest. The city’s cost will be about $51,000.

The intent of the redesign effort is to reuse the existing construction plans as much as possible and design a prefabricated steel truss span. It will, according to documents, mean that northbound U.S. 31 be closed for eight to 10 hours for construction, with two-way traffic running on the southbound portion of the road. The entirety of the highway would be closed between 30 and 60 minutes, followed by a closure of the northbound lane again, also between 30 and 60 minutes.

Gresham Smith will redesign the substructure and will also redesign the architecture elements of the bridge, including a railing/fencing system on the main span, the overlook and the stairs, along with other elements.