Main Budget Question That Needs Answered
Posted by Jeff Pruitt - 9/22/09 @ 12:01 pm - Filed Under City Council
Before any detailed work begins on the city budget the council and administration should come to some consensus on what their expected revenues will be over the next couple of years. Without this how in the world can the budget be anything but a complete shot in the dark? So the question of the day for the mayor is:
What changes in revenue do you anticipate over the next 2 years and what is your plan to mitigate the effect of these changes?
Answering this question is the number one priority for putting together a sustainable and responsible budget…
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7 Responses to “Main Budget Question That Needs Answered”
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Jeff,
I certainly agree with you on this.
It is all about the revenue projections…
Mike
Watching the council meeting last night, it looked like Pat Roller (i.e. the mayor) is trying to lay out a best case scenario. A ~$3.5 million deficit for the each of next two years looks optimistic and highly speculative. It all hinges on appraisals and the effect of the 1% cap (I don’t doubt we’ll all be paying the 1%)and how that now finite pie is sliced among the taxing entities. They’re taking the approach I would expect, if their objective is to postpone the pain for city employees.
It’s also amazing to hear about the efficiencies they’ve been able to find now that they’re under budget pressures. Why weren’t they found before? And the constant reminders of how they’re doing more with less. I almost cried.
Evert, I think that we will NOT be paying the 1% cap.
I think that once citizens realize that keeping to that cap will mean less services, the legislature will adjust it.
Kevin,
I think the probability of that happening is nil. There is no way I see the state legislature passing what would amount to a property tax increase - no way. They are going to tell local government to use the tools they have in place - namely the local option income tax…
I agree with Jeff, having the legislature change the statue is slim to none. Once you have given freedom to someone, it is very tough to take away.
It still amazes me that even in this economy, which I think is going to get worse yet, the city passed a bill to spend $7 million on a building instead of dealing with what they have been for years and on top of this approved another $7 to $8 million to renovate it.
GM car sales plummeted after the cash for clunkers. People are hunkering down across the country. The debt that has been taken on by consumers is being paid down, but it will take a lot of time. Unemployment officially is at nearly 10%, but that does not include those who have exhausted unemployment benefits nor those who have given up looking for work.
If I am trying to feed my family and provide shelter, I can certainly do with less services from the City of Fort Wayne. What is more important, food & shelter or loosing your reduced ability to provide for your family to have more Fort Wayne services?
Kevin-
If there are complaints about a decrease in services, it won’t come from home or business owners. It will come from those who are not faced with being taxed out of their homes or livelihoods. The long lists of sherrif’s sales in the papers should make public officials think long and hard about raising any taxes, let alone property taxes.
A decrease in services? Rising property taxes? In the last 3 years we had our street swept 5 times. No salt on the street for the past 2 years. We have been waiting on storm drain improvements since 2002. Neighborhood Code is a joke. You have to make numerous calls to 311 to get anything done. My assessment last year went up 17%. It is projected to go up another 10% next year.