Longmont’s budget for 2022 would add full-time jobs in the city – Longmont Times-Call

Longmont would add two city parks and open space rangers next year as part of a city government spending package of $ 389.55 million proposed by the city council for next year.

The two new rangers spent much of their time in the popular McIntosh Lake Nature Area in northwest Longmont, as well as elsewhere on the city’s 160 kilometers of hiking trails, the other 41 parks, and approximately 2,000 acres of open space the city owes. according to Parks and Natural Resources Director David Bell.

Bell said in a Monday interview that the city expects to see better compliance with city regulations for visiting and using McIntosh Lake in the presence of rangers.

According to staff notes to Longmont City Council due to resume review of the proposed 2022 overall budget Tuesday evening, the two ranger positions are “necessary to support the educational and interpretive efforts at McIntosh Lake as well as other locations along St. Vrain Greenway and in the whole city. “

Earlier this month, Bell said the city had agreed to hire additional rangers to patrol Longmont’s greenways, parks, and McIntosh Lake and Union Reservoir. Only one full-time and one half-time ranger have been hired this year, however, but Bell hopes to be able to hire more next year.

The two additional park attendants would correspond to 31 permanent positions that city manager Harold Dominguez and staff have recommended to add to Longmont’s full-time equivalents list in 2022 in the city council’s overall budget.

“The total salary and benefits for the 31 additional full-time positions are $ 1,562,608,” budget manager Teresa Molloy said in an email on Monday.

Molloy said a FTE or full-time equivalent is based on the total number of hours worked, not the number of employees who work those hours. A FTE corresponds to 52 weeks with 40 hours per week or a total of 2080 hours per year.

“We only count privileged positions in our FTE count. So a non-FTE would be temporary and part-time employees (PTNB), she said.

Some of the proposed new posts would replace once-temporary and grant-funded posts for which the grant will expire.

The total impact of any changes to full-time workers in that 2022 budget would bring the total number of positions budgeted in Longmont City to 1,042.76, staff said in a memo for the council’s study session on Tuesday evening.

Among the other positions, Dominguez and the city council have recommended expanding Longmont’s full-time employment in the city:

• A senior services consultant, a position posted by the staff, “is needed to help with the growing workload of case management in senior services. It will also help to free up staff to support LHA (Longmont Housing Authority) projects. “
• A Librarian I at Longmont Public Library, a position the staff said would “serve as a bilingual outreach coordinator. It is required for community contact activities with children and adults and for translating materials for the library.
• A police community services detective, one position, said “investigative support from detective staff” is required in responding to crimes against individuals. “It will handle maintaining the sex offender’s database, tracking … pledge transactions, and assisting with investigations into child abuse and human trafficking cases.”
• A Longmont Museum Volunteer and Evaluation Coordinator, a position staff member, said, “Is required to manage volunteer and internship programs at the museum, coordinate evaluation data to measure success, meet grant reporting responsibilities, and equitable access and to continuously improve the services ”.
• Half a full-time position as a water conservation specialist in the Public Works and Natural Resources Department to “meet the increasing demands for water conservation services”.
• Half a full-time position for a sustainability specialist to “address the climate protection priorities set by the city council such as tracking, reporting and modeling greenhouse gases.
• A customer service representative on the NextLight municipal broadband system said a position representative was “necessary to serve growing customers and growing programs.”

Also for review by the council at Tuesday night’s study session are lists of one-time expenses that staff recommend in the 2022 budget – purchases, programs, projects and services that are not expected to continue to have similar amounts in 2023 and annual budgets thereafter cost that.

One of these suggested one-time expenses would be $ 48,136 to purchase a boat and equipment for park rangers overseeing activities on McIntosh Lake.

Others would be $ 300,000 to replace a police bomb squad robot and $ 150,000 for a mobile computer lab for on-site forensic investigations.

When you go

What: Study session of Longmont City Council

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Civic Center Council Chambers, 350 Kimbark St., Longmont

Agenda: tinyurl.com/7uh62pjf

Suggested Budget: tinyurl.com/t4h8ebpx