Following a series of work sessions and public hearings, the City Council approved the 2010 budget at the November 3rd meeting. I would like to thank both the council members and City Administrator Jack Lewis for their time and leadership in establishing priorities for 2010. The most important (and difficult) part of the budget process is choosing between different projects and on-going operating needs. Once council determines the things that matter most, staff can better propose how to allocate dollars appropriately.
All members of the community are also given a chance to speak up and let the council know what is important to them. Some citizens attended the public hearings and spoke in favor of projects for which they had requested city funds. We encourage public discussion that helps council make well informed decisions. We appreciated the positive attitudes and understanding expressed by members of the community who participated in the budget process.
In addition, City staff has begun updating the Comprehensive Plan, the guiding document for the future of our community. Surveys were mailed to all registered voters in Salida; however, we encourage everyone to take the on-line version.
Information received from the surveys will help council understand what is most important to our citizens. In turn, this information will help set priorities for allocating budget dollars in the future.
Top priorities set by council during the 2010 budget process are upgrading streets and other infrastructure, meeting health and safety requirements, and completing recreation amenities that enhance the quality of life for residents and attract tourists. The budget reflects the City’s execution of committed projects both in the government and enterprise funds. Relatively little discretionary spending was possible due to commitments to projects already underway, grant agreements, financing obligations and regulatory or health and safety demands.
General operating funds are constrained due to the expectation that taxable sales will remain lower than historic levels due to the overall economic downturn. Over two-thirds of the City’s general fund revenue is provided through sales tax collections. Additional tax revenue collected by the 1% increase that became effective in 2009 is helping to offset reduced sales, the repeal of property taxes together with a loss in the City’s allocation of specific ownership taxes, a shortfall in expectations for occupation taxes, and significantly reduced interest income.
Another priority of the council was to ensure that city workers would keep their jobs. Salary freezes were implemented to hold personnel costs flat at least until the mid-year increase in health insurance costs. However, no employee layoffs are planned.
Finally, this was the first year for a new process to evaluate requests from citizens seeking funds for community projects. Back in July, we announced through this column that we expected to have a small amount of funding available to support community initiatives. A new application form was introduced to assist city staff and council to fairly evaluate and prioritize the requests. Several non profit organizations and individuals took the time to complete an application and submit a request to the City. We received requests for twenty projects, totaling $383,000. Only a small portion of that amount could be funded in 2010. However, we want to thank the members of the community who took the initiative to bring forward good projects and initiatives. Involved citizens are a very important reason why Salida is such a great community. Requests can be revisited during 2010 if additional funding becomes available to the City.
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