Mayors sign a lot of documents.

That is one of the little things Butler Mayor Tom Donaldson has learned during his first six months in office.

They also speak with a lot of people.

“My phone never quits ringing,” he said, adding he gets calls ranging from asking about buying property in the city to the fire chief telling him of a house fire.

Sometimes the calls are a little more unusual.

“I once got a call in the middle of the night from a former resident asking about why her car was towed two years ago,” Donaldson said.

But answering the phone is not a burden to Donaldson, who considers himself a “people person.”

“A big part of this job is just listening to people,” he said. “Listening to what they have to say.”

Another part of the job is working with city council to balance an increasingly tighter budget, which is at $7.7 million.

“It’s my first experience with the city budget,” said Donaldson, a first-time public official.

The top priority on his to-do list is reaching a long-term contract with the city police members by the end of this year, when the current agreement ends.

“I’ve already been speaking with the police department on a new contract,” he said. “We don’t want to wait until September to begin talking.”

The city failed to renew its contracts with police, fire department members and its nonuniformed workers when they expired Dec. 31, 2011.

It has settled with the police and nonuniformed workers but is still in arbitration with its firefighters for a contract that will retroactively span 2012 through the end of this year.

Donaldson said he is confident he can get a deal done with police.

He also is looking for agreements to be longer than the three-year cycles done in the past.

“That will give the city a better understanding of its future finances,” he said.

Donaldson also would like to stagger the agreements with the three unions to prevent them from all from expiring in the same year as they do now.

Donaldson’s faith in reaching an agreement with police stems from the time he has spent with the department.

The mayor is responsible for overseeing the department, and Donaldson, a former officer in Jackson Township, is comfortable with that role.

“People respect law and order,” he said.

Donaldson replaced the police chief days after being inaugurated to office. He named Ron Brown to the position, demoting former chief Ron Fierst to captain.

“It’s worked out well,” Donaldson said.

The mayor said both drug and traffic arrests are up in the city this year, thanks to what he believes is tougher enforcement.

He’s called to have officers occasionally patrol the streets on foot. It’s something he does as well.

“The chief and I do a lot of walking,” he said.

Last month, council voted to have tougher enforcement at the weekly Friday night concerts at the West New Castle Street Plaza.

The city now is enforcing a strict alcohol ban in the street during the concerts, something that wasn’t enforced the past two years. Donaldson said he has heard a mixed reaction to the move, but believes the plaza now is more welcoming to families.

“We’re enforcing all the laws,” he said. “We can’t be selective. We can’t pick and choose what laws to enforce.”

Brown said his police department appreciates the attention the mayor pays to police.

“I think the mayor is doing a great job,” he said. “He has the city’s best at heart.”

Brown said the mayor spends a lot of time with the department.

“He knows every officer here,” Brown said. “Morale is up. The officers see he stands up for them.”

Brown said Donaldson has been out on each of the drug raids done by the Butler County Drug Task Force.

While the mayor obviously isn’t involved in the police work, Brown said he is still a presence at the scene.

“(The raids) attract a lot of attention,” Brown said. “The mayor will go up to people and explain what is going on.”

Donaldson also called for the cityto begin monitoring its previously unmonitored parking lots.

The Center Avenue, Quarry Street and the Farmers Market lots each now have new $20 a month permits for vehicles to park there. Violators receive parking citations.

However, Donaldson said he wants to begin towing violators from the Quarry Street lot, which is covered by an overpassing bridge.

“People are buying permits in the lot under the bridge,” he said. “That went well.”

Donaldson said his next focus is going to be increasing building code enforcement.

City council appointed a new code enforcement officer earlier this year and is looking to buy new computer software for the department to streamline the citation process.

“We want to improve the quality of life in Butler,” Donaldson said. “This is all about improving the neighborhoods.”

Police enforcement and neighborhoods were the key items on Donaldson’s platform when he ran for office in November.

Councilman Richard Schontz Jr. said the new mayor brings a lot of energy to the city.

“Tom wants to get things done right now,” he said.

Energy is one of the most noticeable aspects for Councilman Kathy Kline.

“Everyone approaches things differently,” Kline said. “The mayor brings a lot of energy.”

While Kline said Donaldson is enthusiastic about his position, she said he doesn’t overstep the boundaries of the mayor.

“He is excellent in that regard,” she said. “He consults us about things. He keeps us on the same page.”

A high energy level is needed for Donaldson, who still works full time as a mail truck supervisor in Cranberry Township.

Despite his full-time job, Donaldson said he devotes about 25 hours per week to his position of mayor.

“This isn’t a job to me. I enjoy it,” he said about his elected position, which comes with a $10,000 annual salary.

Donaldson said accessibility is one of the biggest concerns in the city, particularly with the city’s various authorities.

“One of the things I wanted to do was change the meeting times to an hour more suitable for the public,” he said. “I’ve had some success with that.”

The city parking authority switched its meetings to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. The city redevelopment authority and the Parks, Recreation Grounds and Facilities Authority both agreed to have some meetings in the evening.

However, the Butler Area Sewer Authority declined the request and holds its monthly meetings at 9 a.m.

Donaldson said he now would like each authority to occasionally present reports to city council.

“It’s public information,” he said. “People want to know what the boards are doing. And that can help take away the negative questions people may have about them.”

Donaldson said he is concerned about the financial situation of the city redevelopment authority, which is behind on its mortgage payments on the Penn Theater.

Donaldson said the city will continue to work with its authorities to make them more financially stable. It’s the same concern council faces with the city budget.

“A lot of things need changed,” Donaldson said. “But you can’t change everything overnight.”