Second budget hearing draws few people
By Joey Berlin
Originally published 01:35 p.m., July 1, 2008
Updated 01:35 p.m., July 1, 2008
The city commission’s second public hearing to discuss the 2009 budget featured the same format and same small crowd as last week’s first hearing. But with different people in the crowd this time around, different issues were raised.
Monday night’s hearing at Faith Lutheran Church drew six attendees other than city officials and media, one more than last Wednesday’s hearing at the Emporia Public Library. As in the first hearing, City Manager Matt Zimmerman presented a brief overview of the general fund, as well as the water, sewer and solid waste funds. Copies of handouts breaking down the numbers in each fund were made available to attendees.
The general fund, easily the largest and most broad-based of the four, naturally prompted the most discussion. The current budget projects the general fund to lose $305,653 in 2008 and to be more than $2.4 million in the red for 2009. However Zimmerman noted, as he did last week, that the 2008 projection was based on an economic model by Emporia State University Professor Rob Catlett. Catlett’s model estimated that the Tyson Fresh Meats layoffs would result in an economic impact of between 8 percent and 13 percent. The city used a 10-percent projection in its budget outlook, but so far the impact hasn’t been that severe.
“What we’ve been finding since those models came out in late March is that it’s running in the 5-percent-or-less range,” Zimmerman said. “Some of those numbers are going to be updated in July now that we have two quarters, ‘or six months’, worth of data.”
One Emporian who asked not to be identified in The Gazette pressed the commission on an attached pie-chart graph breaking down the general fund, which showed that personnel service expenses would make up nearly 60 percent of the 2009 general fund budget.
“I mean, we’re nibbling here (and there) at 8 percent of the budget, saying, ‘What do we want to do here, what do we want to do to increase capital outlay?’” he said. “Your big expense is personnel.”
“Well, yeah,” Commissioner Jim Kessler responded. “It costs a lot of money to run this place.”
“I understand that,” the attendee said. “But I think that’s where you need to — I mean, you guys are a lot smarter than I am. But that, to me, is where you need to be focusing your attention if you want to make significant reductions in your budget.”
Commissioner Julie Johnson said that while cutting personnel significantly made sense from a strictly economic point of view, in reality, city government is a round-the-clock operation.
“I mean, the two ... largest personnel people, entities, within the government, are police and fire,” she said. “And quite frankly, it would be difficult for us to operate much leaner in those departments than we already do.”
Betty Rathke brought up the city’s capital outlay for parks and recreation, valued at $150,000 in the 2009 general fund, because she wanted to talk about the condition of C of E Park. Rathke told the city leaders that the park is deteriorating, with cracks in the sidewalks and a “half-dead” evergreen tree that could stand to be cut down.
“And I have seen the guys running their big equipment over the sidewalks ... and you can tell every time when they run one, there’s a new chip or a new crack,” she said. “I would suggest to all of you, and you Mr. Zimmerman, go out and look at the park, walk clear down around the pond and just see what dire shape those trees are (in). They need trimming real bad.”
Johnson told Rathke she also walks in C of E Park often, and she too has been alarmed by the condition of the sidewalk, especially because it isn’t very old.
Rathke asked about special funds that could take care of additional park improvements. Kessler told her about the city’s special park fund, as well as the fund established with proceeds from the sale of Lake Kahola. Money from that fund is slated to finance special park projects.
A large part of the discussion centered on the city’s five-year capital improvement plan. The CIP still has no source for full funding, and last year, commissioners only funded about $200,000 worth of improvements out of $2.4 million worth of projects.
Zimmerman said one of the challenges the city will have is that, as it makes certain improvements, others keep getting backlogged and the cost for those improvements keeps rising. He said it’s important to find ways to maintain the city’s infrastructure and its equipment. An example, Zimmerman said, is the $19,000 high-speed printer on the city’s capital outlay list, which will eventually be purchased to replace the current administrative services printer the city has had since 1989.
“So it’s 19 years old. We can’t get parts for it anymore,” Zimmerman said. “We keep not buying (the new printer). Right now, it’s in the 2008 budget. We’re hoping not to buy it, but we have to put that in every year, because some year it’s going to break, and some year we have to replace it, because you can’t get parts for a 19-year-old printer anymore.”
The commission plans to hold at least two more budget hearings in July, which haven’t been scheduled yet.
dhcc66 (anonymous) says...
ok, i understand where we are short money, but, surely we aren't that short. they can't pay the people they have. they can't hire more to handle the overload of things going on. they can't handle good benefits. they can't do things normal cities do for their own infrastructures.....
WHERE DOES ALL THE MONEY GO????
from other stories recently i get that the police and fire have their hands full, not only with their own calls but with citizens now wanting them to chase fireworks calls and to pick up stray dogs and cats. it also seems that the public works department doesn't have enough staff to keep up with repairs either.
I really want a breakdown on where all of the money goes. i couldn't get it from the last years budget meeting i went to because there are categories that are very general. maybe the gazette should do an investigative story on what all of the cities money goes for....break it down in layman's terms instead of the legalspeak we get from the budget meetings. please include what we pay locally for the Regional Development stuff and Mainstreet, and other narrowly directed associations.
that might make for a good feature series huh Gwen?
July 1, 2008 at 2:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
glarson (anonymous) says...
dhcc66:
You're right, that could make a good series. I can hear the cheers (or are those groans?) in the newsroom now! ;-)
We'll see what we can put together for you.
Gwen
July 2, 2008 at 6:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )