The Austin City Council unanimously voted Monday night to forward all public works department proposals for cuts to its April 6 meeting for approval.

During their second session held to tackle budget reductions in the face of state aid cuts, council members approved eliminating an engineering position previous budgeted for; reducing sidewalk maintenance by 20 percent; and using local option sales tax revenue to fund flood mitigation-associated staff time in the engineering department.

One method of generating revenue proposed involves creating a Highway Lighting District to cover street lighting costs. City engineer Jon Erichson said there are about 9,000 residential, commercial and industrial meters in Austin; he estimated consumers would be charged $20 per parcel per year, or $1.67 per month.

Informational hearings would be held if the fee is approved.

Also recommended for approval April 6 include:

Mosquito spraying

The public works department initially proposed cutting $25,000 from its budget by not spraying for mosquitoes, which the city does about four times per year.

“Is the option open to do that if it becomes necessary?” council member Brian McAlister asked.

“I don’t think that would mean we couldn’t spray if we don’t want to,” Erichson said.

Council member Steve King said he’s been receiving many calls from citizens who want the spraying.

“It kind of surprised me,” he said, and asked if it would be possible to spray before the Fourth of July festival and Mower County Fair.

Spraying twice would cost about $12,500, Erichson said. The council approved recommending spraying for mosquitoes only twice this year.

LED street lighting demo

The city would save $5,000 in 2009 if it approves cutting an LED street lighting demo from its budget.

Erichson said the lights are very expensive. Other communities, like Rochester, Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park, have conducted similar demonstrations.

“We’re pretty efficient with the lighting we had,” Erichson said, explaining that the city spends $180,000 per year in street light utility costs alone.

“There’s a lot of incentive out there for us to reduce those costs,” he added. “I think sometime in the next five years it’s going to be viable for us.”

Bike racks and downtown restrooms

The City of Austin currently has bike racks behind the new Steve’s Pizza location and the downtown restroom area. Not installing additional racks downtown would save $2,500 for 2009.

Also proposed for reduction is the downtown mall public restrooms, which have been closed since the fire. The restrooms had to be opened and closed, and cleaning crews were hired to maintain the facility. Closing the restrooms would save $6,500 in both 2009 and 2010.

Local option sales tax revenue for staff

“Our department spends a lot of time working on flood mitigation,” Erichson said, explaining that he would not like to see the work contracted out.

“I hate to hire a consultant that is in Minneapolis and charges $200 to drive up and $200 to drive back,” he said.

The half-cent local option sales tax could be used to reimburse city staff who have worked on flood mitigation. Erichson has proposed $50,000 for both 2009 and 2010.

“It’s really a revenue enhancement rather than a budget cut,” Erichson said.

Tom Dankert, director of administrative services, said the tax actually generated more revenue in 2008 than in 2007, despite the economy.

“That tells us the retail in the economy in Austin is doing a little bit better than the rest of the state and the rest of the nation,” Erichson said.

The city tax was initiated in April 2007 to aid flood mitigation efforts.