With city sales tax revenue down, Burlington Mayor Ed Brunz will soon be pushing for administrative changes — starting at the top.
The mayor will ask the Council Thursday to consider making his position full-time.
Those changes would go into effect once current City Administrator Jon Aarstad retires in March.
Burlington would not bring in another city administrator under Brunz’s plan, as those duties would be assumed by Brunz, City Attorney Scott Thomas, Finance Director Scott Thramer and administrative assistants.
He said his recommendation, which would be implemented in a one-year trial, would save the city about $30,000 per year in salary without reducing any additional positions.
“This would be a great time for a changing of the guard,” Brunz said.
The mayor said other similarly sized local cities, such as Anacortes, have full-time mayors.
Another benefit, Brunz said, was that having the position would encourage more experienced candidates to run for the position due to its higher pay.
“If you pay this position so a person can live on it, you’re going to get people that are well-qualified to do so in the future,” he said.
Brunz currently makes about $23,000 per year. The proposed change would bump the mayor’s salary to about $70,000 per year.
The Council could also vote to demolish the city’s old fire station located on East Victoria Avenue.
Brunz has estimated in previous meetings that the 53-year-old building would cost several million dollars to renovate.
“That’s millions of dollars that could be spent on other much-needed public benefits,” Burlington Planning Director Margaret Fleek said.
She said a task force made up of about half a dozen people completed a cost analysis of the aging structure and looked at previous structural reports before making the decision.
City officials could approve building a parking lot on the fire station property to accommodate future improvements of nearby Railroad Park.
Kitchen equipment at the fire hall would be moved to the old city hall and library building under the proposed demolition recommendation.
Fleek said the Council and mayor would determine a timeline for the building’s removal if the item is approved.
The City Council will discuss the matters at 7 p.m. at Burlington City Hall, 833 S. Spruce St.
