City attorney, court, HR and Youth Alternatives detail 2022 budgets

May 7—CHEYENNE — As the city's fiscal year 2022 budget work sessions continue, the City Council heard requests at a meeting Friday from the Municipal Court, the City Attorney's Office, Human Resources and Youth Alternatives, many of which include additional funding for personnel.

Most departments saw cuts in some form last year due to COVID-19, so a number of requests this year are simply bringing staff closer to pre-pandemic levels. The council will continue to host a number of work sessions next week, and the final document will be approved in June. The budget document can be found at cheyennecity.org/financialreports under the Adopted and Proposed Budgets tab.

Municipal Court, $688,000

Since the new Joseph M. Carey Cheyenne City Center was open earlier this year, Judge Tony Ross said the Municipal Court Division has some additional requests for the fiscal year 2022 budget, including a part-time judge to help Ross handle the workload.

Since the pandemic, the division has also seen an increase in cases after the Laramie County District Attorney's Office announced they would no longer prosecute low-level crimes due to a lack of resources. Judge Ross is now hearing larcenies and DUIs in his courtroom, and more help is needed.

"If I'm not in the courtroom, I'm not at the courthouse, it's not operating," Ross said.

The increase of about 35% from fiscal year 2021 covers increased maintenance and utility costs at the new building, as well as the part-time judge and two raises. However, Ross also requested another full-time court technician position that was not approved in this budget.

He said with the increasing workload of the department, the funding conversation will have to continue in coming years.

City Attorney's Office, $612,000

The City Attorney Office's budget increased nearly $5,000 this year, mainly due to health insurance increases.

However, an assistant city attorney position has been left unfilled, which City Attorney Mike O'Donnell said will also have to be addressed in the near future.

The office used to house five attorneys, but now, they're down to three.

"The need exists now," O'Donnell said. "We just realized that the city budget can't handle that addition, so we have not requested it."

Regardless, City Councilwoman Michelle Aldrich said she would support finding funding in the budget for that position.

"We have definitely a sufficient workload for an additional attorney, and I will be advocating that we add funding for that into the city attorney's budget," Aldrich said.

Human Resources, $572,000

The city's HR Department budget saw an increase of about $60,000 from last year, which went mostly to payroll expenses, with a small portion for contracted services.

Two employees were given promotions with raises, one HR specialist received a salary increase, and an employee from the IT department was shifted to HR to be responsible for door reception at the Municipal Building and overseeing the mailroom.

The contract increases with Novo Benefits, which was $5,484, cover the use of a Spanish translator for conversations with employees who don't speak English and to expand screening options for employees.

Youth Alternatives, $453,000

The Youth Alternatives budget is up from about $398,000 last year, with Mayor Patrick Collins allocating an additional $700,000 to community service agencies supported by the city's budget. Director Jay Sullivan described to the council how Youth Alternatives was able to readjust during the pandemic and continue serving the community.

"We were able to continue to provide intervention and prevention services to the community by altering our service delivery models; virtual sessions through Zoom became our new norm," Sullivan said.

"Moving forward, we'll continue to break down the barriers to mental health services by continuing to offer virtual sessions to those clients that need this approach," he continued.

Funding for the volunteer coordinator, who oversees the Mayor's Youth Council, was also moved back into the Youth Alternatives budget after being taken from the Special Friends account last year due to COVID-19 budget constraints. Their janitorial services and a part-time position were also cut last year, so those will be restored.

Margaret Austin is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's local government reporter. She can be reached at maustin@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3152. Follow her on Twitter at @MargaretMAustin.