City Council has started combing through Mayor Tom Richards' 2012-2013
proposed budget. Council members spent all day Wednesday grilling department
heads in an open hearing.
Some highlights:
- Bikes: the city is working on
seven different projects to connect neighborhoods to bike trails.
- Inner Loop
cleaning may be reduced to twice a year. And the city will resubmit an
application to fill in the Loop from Monroe
to East avenues early next year.
- The FederalBuilding owes the city more
than $3,000 for water. An official said the city has been trying to get
paid for six months, but it's not going well. Whoever pays the bills over
there only wants to pay the current amount, a city official said, and not
what's past due.
- Will the state take good care
of the Canadice and Hemlock watershed? Environmental Services employees
spoke openly of their concerns.
- Could Barnard Crossing
library in Greece and Rochester's Charlotte branch be combined? They have
the same customer base.
- The Maplewood branch library
has outgrown its space. Officials looked at an old fire house and an
abandoned nursing home as possible new locations, but rejected both
options. A couple of Council members mentioned striking a deal with School
No. 7, since it's close to Maplewood. The area doesn't need two full
libraries, Council member Dana Miller said.