CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The City of Cheyenne’s Recreation and Events Admin Division has asked for an increase of $308,184 to its Fiscal Year 2023 budget, up from $551,628 the previous year.
This meeting is part of a two-week process to review the city’s proposed $59 million budget for fiscal year 2023. As proposed, the budget is balanced at $59,636,705, up more than $5.7 million over the current fiscal year budget. The city operates on a July 1-June 30 fiscal year.
Last week, after an overview of the budget, meetings took place to discuss the budget for such offices as the Mayor’s office, Treasurer’s Office, City Attorneys Office, and more. This week began with a discussion of the Animal Shelter and Downtown Development Authority budgets, Engineering Division and Planning Development, and Public Works.
The city is hosting daily work sessions through Friday, May 13, to review the budget from noon to 1 p.m. in the Municipal Building Council Chambers at 2101 O’Neil Ave. The meetings are livestreamed on the city’s social media pages, through a Zoom link available at www.cheyennecity.org/ecm, and televised on Spectrum channel 192.
There are several aspects that are covered by Recreation and Events. Among them is the admin division, which asked for an increase of $308,184, primarily for payroll. The increase would set its budget at $859,812.
The forestry line item budget is increased by $167,329 from FY 2022. This is primarily because of the reinstatement of an arborist position, which had been frozen due to budget cuts in earlier years. If the increase is adopted, the line item’s budget will be $820,146.
Other budget requests in the department come from an increase for the concession manager for taking on additional duties with a civic center and on the ball fields.
The fleet fuel and labor budget increased by $4,200, and copier expenses went up to $3,000.
The aquatics division budget seeks an increase of $172,000 to more than $1.33 million. This is due to payroll changes, as well as the department being able to reach pre-COVID numbers for its lifeguards, which is determined by Red Cross standards.
The overall recreation division budget increased by $25,995. This was due to the $1.50 pay increases last year, as well as the department promoting one of their staff members to supervisor. It’s annual budget would be set at $341,831, if approved.
The golf division budget increased by $54,862 to $956,681. A portion, $9,500, was due to an increase in the temporary part-time help, and there was an increase of $5,500 for parts and $2,500 for tires. It also increased maintenance supply funds by $7,500.
For the parks division, there is a substantial increase sought for this budget — $330,000. That would bring its annual budget to more than $2.18 million. And the cemetery division budget is proposed to increase by $72,461 to $473,184.
