IAFF Local 3472

“We have done some out-of-the-box thinking and have made a number of recommendations that the administration is already working on,” he said. “I think this will be some new and good thinking that they could consider.”

Funk said that the committee won't be recommending new taxes. Rather, it will offer suggestions on finding new revenue streams, such as advertising in city parks.

“We're all very aware of the economic issues in our community and state,” he said. “There's no immediate recommendation to run out for a police millage or a road millage, because quite frankly there's not enough detail in place that probably could justify those.” One suggestion will be to replace an expiring 0.4-mill debt millage with a new one, so taxes remain the same.

“It would allow us to go out and front about $15 million so there would be a road fund,” Funk said.

As for police, which is currently paid for with two special millages and a contribution from the general fund, Funk said the committee felt public safety is a top priority for all residents.

“Some of the other things we do as a city might be more viewed as optional or something the voters should vote on. There was a lot of dialogue, and we do recommend council look at having a parks millage, something that stands on its own and gets out of the general fund.”

Mayor Bryan Barnett could not be reached Friday for comment, but Funk said the mayor has seen a draft of the report.

“He has been pretty supportive, from my dialogue with him, about what we want to do.”

The committee has been meeting since November and worked with many of the city's department directors. Funk said he came away impressed with how hard they're trying to more with less in the current economy.

“The one thing I'm impressed with is how many things are going on in all the departments already, trying to figure out how to do it better,” he said. “They're stepping up and looking at innovative ways to do things.”