The city of Lansing could soon hire a sustainability specialist and a legislative analyst.
The specialist would help implement the city’s Climate Action Plan and write grants for the city's sustainability efforts.
The City Council voted 6-2 Monday to fund the position after Councilmember Brian Jackson offered it as an amendment to the city’s proposed budget.
Councilmember Peter Spadafore expressed concern about the position being funded partially using the city’s savings, noting that those funds don’t replenish year-over-year.
“We’re looking at creating an operational position with one-time money in this amendment,” Spadafore said.
But Jackson argued the position could effectively fund itself if they are successful with grant writing.
“I think this position, although it does come from line-item sources, it still would bring in revenue to the city,” Jackson said.
Council President Ryan Kost said he is concerned about how shifting federal policies could impact the city’s ability to get grants for environmental initiatives.
“I don’t have a lot of hope for Washington, D.C., that there’s going to be a lot of clean energy grants coming down for the next few years,” Kost said.
Councilmember Trini Pehlivanoglu said the goal is to “build capacity.”
“If this position is proven effective moving forward, say there is money for one year for someone to go in and really prove and generate dollars for the city and do this good work as a sustainability specialist, I would like to find a way to be able to do that,” Pehlivanoglu said.
Jackson said Mayor Andy Schor could remove the position from next year’s budget and explain his reasoning if the first year proved ineffective.
Spadafore and Councilmember Jeremy Garza ultimately voted against the amendment, with the other six members voting for it.
City Councilmembers also voted to add a legislative analyst into the budget.
That employee would assist councilmembers in drafting legislation and researching other municipalities in Michigan, which Kost said would make city government more efficient.
“We do need someone that’s looking over this legislation as we’re writing it and proposing it to make sure that we’re not missing anything,” Kost said.
City Councilmembers also added funding for two additional firefighters, bringing the total number of new firefighters in the budget to three. Fire Chief Brian Sturdivant previously told City Council the department was facing dangerously low staffing.
Mayor Andy Schor will decide whether to sign or veto the budget items.