OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Grand Island City Council Budget Review Meeting - July 7, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, July 7, 2026
BodyGrand Island, Nebraska
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, July 7, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:55:07

Transcript — Verbatim
0:54

We'll go ahead and call our meeting to order on July 7th, 2026 at 6 p.m.

1:00

Welcome to our meeting.

1:01

This is an open meeting of the Grand Island City Council.

1:04

The City of Grand Island abides by the Open Meetings Act in conducting business.

1:08

A copy of the open meeting act is displayed in the back of the room as required by state law.

1:13

Now I'll proceed with the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:23

And to the Republic for which it stands.

1:28

Undergone, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

1:38

Councilmember Shearn.

1:39

Present.

1:40

Council Member Stelk.

1:41

Councilmember Conley will be absent.

1:43

Councilmember Nickerson.

1:45

Present.

1:45

Council Member Brown.

1:46

Present.

1:47

Council President O'Neill.

1:48

Present.

1:49

Councilmember Hazi.

1:50

Present.

1:51

Councilmember Mendoza.

1:52

Present.

1:53

Councilmember Pollock will be absent.

1:55

Councilmember Lanfear.

1:57

Present.

1:57

And Mayor Still will be absent.

2:00

The sign-up sheet was available in the lobby for individuals wishing to provide input on any of tonight's agenda items.

2:06

If you did not sign up to speak an agenda item, please come forward, state your name and agenda topic on which you'll be speaking on.

2:14

And none have come forward, so we shall proceed.

2:20

Good evening.

2:32

For those of you that are on the interlocal committee, this is going to look very familiar.

2:37

But when looking at the budget uh for the emergency management department, we have uh our department is split into three funds, the general fund, the 215 or the uh landline E901 fund, and then the 216 or the wireless 911 fund, and that is brought in by an allocation annually from the public service commission according to a set formula.

3:02

We don't have a lot of changes in ours, no new FTEs this year.

3:06

Um but we do introduce the first year of the ongoing Motorola maintenance contract for the new for the new system, and that's a 222,000 dollar increase in the budget, which is sizable uh nonetheless.

3:19

Uh what we have currently is all but two of our employees are on the general fund.

3:28

And for a number of years, we had two uh two of the public safety dispatcher positions funded out of the uh a mix of the two fifteen two sixteen funds.

3:38

What we find quite frankly is I'm always moving employees off of that fund and then uh newer or other uh other employees onto that fund because as wages increase the the the revenue of those two line items don't typically increase.

3:54

Um so unlike a lot of my um operating expenses that are more predictable and more static.

4:01

The employee costs that were on that 215, 216 mix tend to um over uh to overgrow uh and then we'd move them to the general fund and find two lower cost employees uh to put on there.

4:14

For a number of years we've been looking at the right time to reshuffle the cards in and the expenses and bring all the employees into the general fund and push uh a number of my uh typical and annual expenses to the special revenue funds, and so this was the year we decided to do it.

4:35

So what we did is um uh we moved about uh I'd say a hundred thousand dollars or more over uh from the two fifteen funds and two sixteen fund, and then we replaced it with uh allowable expenses in those in those two special revenue funds.

5:00

And by doing so, it allows us to align uh cost like employees that grow with the general fund that has a greater capacity for growth than the landline or the wireless fund.

5:07

Uh the wireless fund is a set construct, and our landline 901 funds haven't really gone up much over the last 10 years.

5:15

Not a lot of new landlines are being installed in a community.

5:18

So we're fortunate now that we have what we have, but we don't anticipate that really growing in any great measure.

5:26

Uh personnel uh increases for the department are up uh 11%.

5:32

But again, a lot of that is because I brought in two new employees into the general fund that we didn't have before.

5:38

And then uh that includes step and level uh uh step and cost of living increases uh for the staff, and also it estimates changes that might be made for um insurance costs.

5:53

And uh insurance is one of those things that you we budget in September, and then in J in January, a lot of times we may see elections change, and uh we have sometimes some unanticipated growth because we don't always know what insurance changes we'll make.

6:08

And I'm kind of a small enough department, it's an interesting phenomenon to see how one or two people changing their insurance uh choice will have a pretty sizable effect marginally on how we operate.

6:20

Uh operating expense increases 23%, and that is a lot.

6:24

Um, but that's really we're looking at 222,000 of new expenses, and uh as you know that's that's set for the next five years.

6:34

It'll grow slightly over the period of five years.

6:38

Uh we divided roughly half of it to the general fund and the other half to the special revenue funds.

6:49

Uh let's see.

6:54

This year we don't have a lot of um, we don't have a lot of capital improvement uh plans for this year.

7:02

Currently, we're finishing the radio project.

7:05

I just signed the third milestone, the installation milestone today.

7:09

That means in the coming weeks, we should see uh invoice number three, and that's for 15% of that three million dollar cost.

7:16

And then, of course, we get reimbursed by the county for their portion of the match, and then 75% of that invoice from the grant that we received.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Technology and Innovation████████████████████████24%
Public Safety███████████████████████23%
Budget Equity Analysis█████████████████████21%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████████████15%
Personnel Matters██████████10%
Procedural████4%
Workforce Development██2%
Fiscal Sustainability█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Grand Island City Council Budget Review Meeting - July 7, 2026

The Grand Island City Council met on July 7, 2026, at 6 p.m. to review proposed budgets for the Emergency Management and Fire & Ambulance departments for the upcoming fiscal year. Presentations covered operational increases, capital requests, staffing needs, and future infrastructure plans. Council members engaged in detailed discussions on funding, overtime costs, and long-term sustainability.

Discussion Items

Emergency Management Department Budget (John)

  • Overview: The department operates across three funds: General Fund, Landline E901 Fund (215), and Wireless 911 Fund (216). Funding is allocated annually by the Public Service Commission.
  • Key Change: All employee positions are being moved to the General Fund, replacing them with allowable expenses in the special revenue funds. This aligns growing personnel costs with the General Fund's greater capacity for growth, as the landline and wireless funds have stagnant revenue. Approximately $100,000 was moved from the 215 and 216 funds.
  • Motorola Maintenance Contract: The first year of a five-year contract introduces a $222,000 increase in the budget. This is an anticipated cost tied to the new radio system.
  • Personnel Costs: Increase of 11%, driven by the addition of two employees to the General Fund, step and cost-of-living increases, and estimated insurance changes.
  • Operating Expenses: Increase of 23%, primarily due to the Motorola contract. Half of the $222,000 is allocated to the General Fund, half to special revenue funds.
  • Capital Projects: No major capital improvements this year. The radio project is nearing completion (third milestone signed, final acceptance expected by end of summer). Other items: HVAC upgrade completed, new cameras installed (replacing Chinese-made), two sirens on standby, one radio repeater ($8,000), UPS battery replacement ($15,000), and four new dispatch consoles ($100,000) funded from the 215 fund balance. The new consoles will improve communication and situational awareness among dispatchers.
  • AI and Technology: Use of "Comms Coach" for training and call review; Rapid SOS Unite (AI closed captioning for calls) is being implemented; EMD Pro QA system for medical dispatch; future consideration of Fire Pro QA for fire dispatching.

Fire & Ambulance Department Budget (Chief Corey Schmidt)

  • Staffing Request: Three additional Firefighter/EMTs (required to become paramedics within three years) at a cost of $231,181. This is driven by a relief factor of 3.75 (recommended by ESCI). Current staffing is 69 for a minimum of 19 per shift; the target is 71.25. Adding three would improve the relief factor to 3.78, reducing overtime and mandatory overtime.
  • Overtime Savings: Estimated $80,000–$100,000 in overtime reduction from the new hires. Overtime is currently high due to vacancies and the transition to a 48/96 schedule (which eliminated Kelly days). Vacancy savings are low (approximately $47,000).
  • Operational Budget: Overall increase of ~$115,000–$116,000, but after accounting for the new GEMT (Government-based Ambulance Providers) program, there is a net reduction of $24,000. GEMT will bring in $280,000 in revenue and $140,000 in expense (intergovernmental transfer).
  • Capital Requests: Total $800,000 target, slightly exceeded. Major items:
    • Storage building behind Fire Station 1 (cost not specified, but previous outbuilding moved was too expensive)
    • Replacement of air conditioning system at Station 1 (estimated $50,000, actual bid $183,200; 12-week lead time)
    • Mobile radios for reserve units ($102,000)
    • Bunker gear rotation ($75,000 annually)
    • Engine replacement for Engine 2 ($60,000) – burning oil
    • Phoenix room remotes (selective alerting system) for Station 3 (cost not specified)
    • Patient ventilator ($? for long-distance transport, used 3-4 times/year)
    • Brush truck local match ($24,000) for a grant application
    • Chain link fence for training tower ($12,000)
  • Future Needs:
    • New fire engine (estimated $1.1 million, 2-3 year lead time) – to be brought to council soon.
    • Ambulance replacement (every two years, 2-3 year lead time)
    • Rescue 3 replacement (estimated $1.4 million in 3-5 years)
    • Fire Station 2 (built 1957) – needs study on remodel or rebuild, location, and timing. Council members suggested a study session in fall 2026.
  • Discussion on Overhire: Council member Nickerson suggested allowing overhire (similar to police) to manage staffing fluctuations without a full $231,000 commitment. Chief Schmidt noted that overhire would only be costly if fully staffed, which is rare. The city's ability to raise revenue is limited (growth plus 2% cap, each percent ~$130,000).

Key Outcomes

  • The council heard presentations but did not take formal votes. The budgets will be further reviewed as part of the overall city budget process.
  • The fire department's request for three FTEs and capital items will be considered in the context of total city revenue constraints and other department requests.
  • A study session on Fire Station 2's future is anticipated in the fall (October/November 2026).
  • The city will continue to seek grant funding for the brush truck ($24,000 local match).
  • The new fire engine purchase will be brought to council within the next month or two for approval, with delivery in 2-3 years.
  • The dispatch console upgrade ($100,000) will proceed from the 215 fund balance.
  • The Motorola maintenance contract ($222,000 annually) is part of the base budget.
  • The meeting was adjourned without further action.

Meeting Transcript

We'll go ahead and call our meeting to order on July 7th, 2026 at 6 p.m. Welcome to our meeting. This is an open meeting of the Grand Island City Council. The City of Grand Island abides by the Open Meetings Act in conducting business. A copy of the open meeting act is displayed in the back of the room as required by state law. Now I'll proceed with the Pledge of Allegiance. And to the Republic for which it stands. Undergone, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Councilmember Shearn. Present. Council Member Stelk. Councilmember Conley will be absent. Councilmember Nickerson. Present. Council Member Brown. Present. Council President O'Neill. Present. Councilmember Hazi. Present. Councilmember Mendoza. Present. Councilmember Pollock will be absent. Councilmember Lanfear. Present. And Mayor Still will be absent. The sign-up sheet was available in the lobby for individuals wishing to provide input on any of tonight's agenda items. If you did not sign up to speak an agenda item, please come forward, state your name and agenda topic on which you'll be speaking on. And none have come forward, so we shall proceed. Good evening. For those of you that are on the interlocal committee, this is going to look very familiar. But when looking at the budget uh for the emergency management department, we have uh our department is split into three funds, the general fund, the 215 or the uh landline E901 fund, and then the 216 or the wireless 911 fund, and that is brought in by an allocation annually from the public service commission according to a set formula. We don't have a lot of changes in ours, no new FTEs this year. Um but we do introduce the first year of the ongoing Motorola maintenance contract for the new for the new system, and that's a 222,000 dollar increase in the budget, which is sizable uh nonetheless. Uh what we have currently is all but two of our employees are on the general fund. And for a number of years, we had two uh two of the public safety dispatcher positions funded out of the uh a mix of the two fifteen two sixteen funds. What we find quite frankly is I'm always moving employees off of that fund and then uh newer or other uh other employees onto that fund because as wages increase the the the revenue of those two line items don't typically increase. Um so unlike a lot of my um operating expenses that are more predictable and more static. The employee costs that were on that 215, 216 mix tend to um over uh to overgrow uh and then we'd move them to the general fund and find two lower cost employees uh to put on there. For a number of years we've been looking at the right time to reshuffle the cards in and the expenses and bring all the employees into the general fund and push uh a number of my uh typical and annual expenses to the special revenue funds, and so this was the year we decided to do it. So what we did is um uh we moved about uh I'd say a hundred thousand dollars or more over uh from the two fifteen funds and two sixteen fund, and then we replaced it with uh allowable expenses in those in those two special revenue funds. And by doing so, it allows us to align uh cost like employees that grow with the general fund that has a greater capacity for growth than the landline or the wireless fund. Uh the wireless fund is a set construct, and our landline 901 funds haven't really gone up much over the last 10 years. Not a lot of new landlines are being installed in a community. So we're fortunate now that we have what we have, but we don't anticipate that really growing in any great measure. Uh personnel uh increases for the department are up uh 11%. But again, a lot of that is because I brought in two new employees into the general fund that we didn't have before. And then uh that includes step and level uh uh step and cost of living increases uh for the staff, and also it estimates changes that might be made for um insurance costs. And uh insurance is one of those things that you we budget in September, and then in J in January, a lot of times we may see elections change, and uh we have sometimes some unanticipated growth because we don't always know what insurance changes we'll make. And I'm kind of a small enough department, it's an interesting phenomenon to see how one or two people changing their insurance uh choice will have a pretty sizable effect marginally on how we operate.

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