By: Megan Palera
mpalera@klkntv.com
Not only has the Mayor come up with a way to save two police officer jobs, but a lot of people will also be happy to hear that some of our city parks will be getting a much needed haircut.
Accidents in the city may be down, but the time it takes to write up a non-injury traffic report is still the same. "No doubt about it, in the world of police reports, the accident report is one of the more in-depth time consuming reports," said Mayor Chris Beutler.
Mayor Beutler thought he could save the city money by doing away with the reports, but public outcry has led to a change of heart, and it's in the form of a fee.
"It's only fair that those users should pay those costs rather than the public generally," said Mayor Beutler. The cost, $15 per report for whoever requests a copy. It's the same fee the Nebraska Department of Roads already charges, and the city believes that revenue would be enough to fund the two police officer jobs that would have been phased out.
Another change to the budget, the Mayor is proposing an additional $50,000 be added to the Parks and Rec budget for mowing. Right now, 64 of Lincoln's parks are seldom mowed as a way to save money. But neighbors that back up to Taylor Park near 70th and O say the weeds are out of control, so the extra money is more than welcomed.
"They mowed maybe once or twice. The weeds were knee high. It'll make the neighborhood association a lot happier if they start cleaning up some of the weeds and doing some more mowing," said David Carson.
The revised budget will be given to the City Council later this week. The Council will begin to tackle the budget as a whole beginning next week.
