Community Services Department Director Brian Brogan presents his department budget Tuesday night. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com

Staff Report

Los Alamos County Council unanimously voted to tentatively approve the Community Services Department’s approximately $13.7 million budget during Tuesday night’s hearing.

Additionally, they also tentatively approved all the suggested budget add-on options, which included:

• $20,000 for quads and tracks for trail building and maintenance
• $80,000 for the Public Health Office
• $35,000 for open space improvements
• $79,802 to hire a park maintenance specialist III
• $15,000 to replace the AV system
• $72,950 for resource special program funding
• $64,000 for Los Alamos Public Schools prevention program funding
• $400,000 for the investigation and conceptual design of a Tween Center, which would be for grades sixth through eighth
• $55,000 for general operation of the Teen Center

Community Services Department Director Brian Brogan presented a few highlights from his department’s budget. They included:

• The FY2020 Community Services Department budget was prepared flat as compared to FY2019’s budget prior to Council’s labor revision.
• Due to anticipated increases in water and medical costs, CSD plans to defer maintenance, become more efficient with purchasing, and estimate for anticipated vacancies.
• PROS Administration has been reorganized into other CSD divisions to better reflect costs under the programs they support as well as allow administrative functions to fall under a department-wide CSD Centralized Services division.
• With this flat budget department staff does not anticipate any major noticeable service impacts affecting the public.