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June 5, 2012
Council takes first look at balanced budget
The Council wrestled with the good, bad and ugly aspects of the City's finances when presented with the 2012/14 FY budget at its June 4 meeting. First, the good: The City has seen its population grow past the 126,000 population mark as of last January; and business prospects are improving as new companies bring new jobs to Industrial Park, downtown and Mooney Boulevard. The proposed 2012/14 FY budget meets the demands of a growing City and for the first time in 4 years, is a balanced General Fund budget.
The city's internal financial picture? The past four years has seen deficit General Fund budgets adopted, relying on reserves to bridge the gap. Emergency reserves have declined from $13.6 million in 2007/08 to $5.1 million in FY 2010/11.
The appropriations breakdown for all funds is $243,382,976 for 2012/13 and $135,802,946 for 2013/14. Business funds for 2012/13 include $99.3 million for the upgrade of the Water Conservation Plant.
A balanced budget comes at a price: Positions have and are proposed to be cut; services have been reduced; and departments are being consolidated in an effort to bring the General Fund into balance. Council will grapple with these options at a public hearing on June 18 before giving final approval to the budget. For the staff report, click here.
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