City Engineer: Sell the Wyandotte Millennium Trolley

Could the Wyandotte Millennium Trolley be on the way out?

City Engineer Mark Kowalewski is recommending that the city sell the trolley to a private company to save money.

The trolley cost about $20,000 to operate last year, but only brought in $16,000 in revenue, Kowalewski said.

The loss is even higher this fiscal year, he said. Expenses have risen to $21,500, while revenue has dropped to $15,000, he said.

“My suggestion would be that you get out of the trolley business,” Kowalewski told city leaders during a budget hearing Monday. “It’s not making you money.”

The city bought the trolley in 2000 and leases it out on an hourly basis. The largest use of the trolley is when the leases it for the monthly Third Friday celebrations.

If the trolley is sold, Kowalewski said, the city could negotiate that it still return once a month for the Third Friday celebrations.

That way, tradition would continue but the city wouldn’t be burdened with the revenue losses that come along with it. Now that the trolley is 11 years old, Kowalewski said, he expects it soon will need major work that will only cost the city more.

The trolley discussion came up during a budget hearing detailing the engineering and .

Kowalewski said he’s come up with other ways, as well, to help offset the city’s estimated $1.4 million budget shortfall.

Included in his recommendations are reducing tree cutting and maintenance on public buildings, reducing the frequency that the public services offices are cleaned and eliminating a part-time typist and three part-time seasonal employees.

He said other things could be done, as well, including replacing fewer trees. When a tree dies in a city park, for instance, it might not be replaced.

“They’re not big numbers though,” Kowalewski said. “(But) if we add up these smaller things, maybe we save an employee.”

His projected savings are about $46,500, which is in addition to another $72,000 in reductions already made and not even budgeted for in the 2011-12 budget, which takes effect Oct. 1.

All of the cost savings, however, don’t even cover the increase in fuel costs that are projected for his departments. Fuel costs alone are set to rise $235,000 in next year’s budget, Kowalewski said.

While he’s found some cost savings, , including eliminating all of the seasonal, part-time employees to save an additional $100,000.

Kowalewski said he doesn’t support that as those college students, who make about $3,500 over a three-month period, do a lot of work in the summer to augment what the crew of 19 full-time DPS employees can do.

“You get a tremendous amount of value for those seasonal employees,” Kowalewski said.

Kowalewski said a longtime full-time employee might be retiring, which is set to save the city about $82,000 in salary and benefits.

If that person is not replaced, Kowalewski said, the savings seen there could cover the majority of the seasonal layoffs planned by the mayor.

Councilman James DeSana said he doesn’t support the mayor’s plan to cut all part-timers, calling it “penny wise and pound foolish,” considering the work they accomplish for the city.

Budget talks continue at 5 p.m. today at when the city assessor and are up for discussion.