Better budget news in Aurora this year

A year ago, Aurora was in financial trouble.

The city faced an $18 million budget deficit and had to offer employee buyouts, seek concessions from unions, lay off eight police officers and eliminate the office of special events to plug the hole.

This budget cycle, it's a different story — one with less conflict and less financial strain.

The city had a $5 million shortfall at the beginning of the budgeting process, according to Finance Director Brian Caputo's midyear report.

But about $1 million in net revenue increases and the cuts made last year helped fill the hole without continuing furlough days or cutting more employees or services, Mayor Tom Weisner said.

“Because we did what we did when we needed to do it, we're still here,” he said. “It's basically a more efficient organization than it was several years ago.”

The $381 million 2012 budget, set for a city council vote Tuesday, Dec. 13, is balanced and even includes funding for hiring three new employees, rehiring all eight police officers who were laid off and spending $5.4 million on resurfacing city streets.

Here's a look at highlights of Aurora's proposed 2012 budget.

3 new employees

A special events employee, development coordinator and development project assistant are new positions included in the proposed budget.

After eliminating the office of special events to balance the 2011 budget, Weisner said he realized groups that stepped up to sponsor gatherings such as the Fourth of July parade need a contact at the city to help with blocking event planning, Weisner said.

“It's so much more efficient and so much more successful when there's a single point of contact,” he said.

Weisner said the development coordinator will work with builders as Aurora begins to see an increase in construction, including a few residential projects just west of Route 59. Adding a position also will help the city be “proactive in terms of bringing development in,” he said.

Police training

Police officers will get 48 hours of training in 2012 on topics such as search and seizure laws, crime prevention, and use of force, thanks to $400,000 added to the police overtime fund, Chief Greg Thomas said.

Money for training was cut last year, but the $400,000 will allow training to resume in 2012 with officers getting paid overtime for 24 hours of it.

“Suspending it for a year is difficult but with the pain of the economy ... it was an appropriate decision,” Thomas said. “It's been added back into the budget as it rightly should be.”

Laptops in squad cars will be upgraded beginning in 2012 using grant funding to replace eight- or nine-year-old models. The police department also will begin upgrading in-car video cameras.

Fire truck staffed

One of the Aurora Fire Department's three ladder trucks was “browned out” in 2011, meaning it wasn't staffed at all times.

But with an allocation of $800,000, the ladder truck, which helps with search, rescue and ventilation and carries tools to extricate people from crashed vehicles, will be fully staffed and ready whenever it's needed, Weisner said.

“We think it's very good for the city and the fire department to have the third ladder truck up and running,” said Toby Gill, president the union that represents Aurora firefighters.

New roadwork

Thirty-five lane miles of residential streets and 15 lane miles of arterial streets are set to be resurfaced in 2012 under the proposed budget.

The city had a road conditions survey conducted to rate each street, and will resurface first the streets with the worst rating. Resurfacing before roadways deteriorate costs less than waiting longer and completely replacing the street, Weisner said.