Proposed city budget avoids tax increase
Related
Advertisement
Plan aims to add police without overburdening taxpayers, cutting other jobs
5/19/2008 - 5/20/08
Some city councilors have hashed out how they intend to spend up to $81 million on behalf of Santa Fe residents during the next year without increasing taxes.The city Finance Committee on Monday approved a budget for fiscal year 2008-09 that will be open for debate before the entire governing body next week. The budget represents a 9 percent increase in revenues over the last fiscal year, but because of rising costs, also limited expansion of services.
Proposed staff additions to the Police Department are a major factor in the city's budget decisions this year. Even though the department got an infusion of funding from a 2006 property-tax hike, the money went to salary increases and recruitment programs, not to add field officers. Police Chief Eric Johnson has asked for 45 new positions over the next three years to respond to growth in the city.
Johnson and Mayor David Coss proposed another property-tax increase, but the committee chose a different plan.
About 18 positions could be phased in during the upcoming year without a revenue stream in place, according to a memo to the committee from the finance director, but a sustainable revenue source would be required to pay any new officers' wages for the next budget cycle.
The plan to juggle the increase this year depends on $50,000 from a red-light camera program yet to be approved by the City Council, $150,000 that formerly paid the salary of the deputy city manager who resigned this month and about $340,000 from not filling vacant positions in most other city departments.
While Finance Chairman Councilor Matthew Ortiz said he supported the plan because it was based on savings, Councilor Miguel Chavez said he was concerned about its long-term affect on the rest of the city.
Among other details, the citywide budget includes about 14 new employees for the Land Use Department that would be funded through new permit and inspection fees, a pay raise for union contracts and for merit-based pay increases for managers, and new employees for the Parks Division.
Monday night's committee approval included ideas from each department that are aimed at providing ideas for reducing costs.
Some were likely to result in conversations about policy shifts, such as a plan to close the Fort Marcy Recreation Complex on Sundays and holidays and to stop the free garbage bag program. Others are part of initiatives already under consideration, such as re-establishing a citywide motor pool instead of assigning vehicles to certain employees and technology advances and archiving of records that would save staff time in various areas.
City Manager Galen Buller said he already has a staff group that is analyzing the ideas. He will need time to decide which were practical to implement and come up with a revised budget. One difficulty is that some departments proposed to save money by shifting duties to other departments, he said.
Ortiz also advocated for a different kind of savings in the budget — by getting rid of some workers. "The fact that we did not look ... at elimination of positions is a disappointment to me," said Ortiz. "I do have positions that I think could be and should be on the chopping block."
One item missing from the proposed budget is a reserve fund for the public financing of campaigns, approved by voters in the March municipal election and set to go into effect for the 2010 election. An earlier version of the budget would have set aside $135,000, but Finance Director Kathryn Raveling said the plan calls for the money to be allocated at the end of the year if it is still available.
The final budget plan must be approved by the end of May under state regulations, said Buller. It will be heard at the council meeting on May 28.
