New Sherman utility crew benefiting city
Before the council approved a resolution that appropriated additional funds for year-end expenditure reconciliation for the fiscal year 2015-2016 budget, City Manager
"We do have that crew fully on board, have their equipment in place and we have more work right now than we have people," Hefton said of the utility crew. "So I'm glad we have them and we are already putting that new crew to work."
Hefton said the crew has projects lined up on the city's east side in the area south of
"They are literally all over town doing exactly what we thought they would do and saving the city money and helping us get a jump on all the projects," Hefton said. "I know it's a small sample size because they've only be on board a few months, but it's working like we thought. We're already realizing the savings and we're getting to that work probably quicker than we would get to it otherwise."
The budget amendment increases total expenditures by
The appropriations included adding
Hefton said the biggest chunk of those funds were needed for the group health fund, as managing that part of the city's operations "has been a real challenge" for city staff.
"I wanted to let you guys know we are putting the finishing touches on what will be a significant change in direction that we're taking with our group health fund," Hefton said to the council. "We will continue to buy group health (coverage) for our employees and make it available for their dependents as well, but we're having to really right-size our group health plan and make it more comparable to what is out there in the industry and other governments. So we're making significant changes there to try to get our arms around the issues we've been facing there."
The council also called a special meeting for noon
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