Published: Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Mukilteo council OKs cuts to narrow $1.7 million shortfall
MUKILTEO -- A divided City Council approved nearly 50 separate cutbacks Monday in an attempt to narrow a projected $1.7 million shortfall.
Some small savings came from passing on a new costume for McGruff the Crime Dog and scaling back on various travel and training budgets.
Bigger savings came from $240,000 in concessions from the city's four labor unions and reducing the amount the city pays for consultants by about $100,000.
In full, the council slashed about $1 million in operation costs from the city's general fund budget. No employees were laid off.
"I think we are in good financial shape -- it's just a matter of being prudent," Mayor Joe Marine said. "I don't know how long or how deep the recession will be. I don't want to skip along like everything is great, and then a year from now have to lay people off."
The council also added roughly $500,000 in new expenses -- mostly to pay the final bills for the new City Hall.
In the end, the council shrunk the city's projected shortfall to $1.2 million.
The city's police and fire budgets were cut only 1.5 percent. Other department budgets were cut as much as 13 percent.
A one-year shortfall isn't going to cause significant problems for Mukilteo, said finance director Scott James.
Deep cash reserves in Mukilteo equal almost 45 percent of the city's general fund budget. Other cities typically have only 8 to 15 percent in reserve, he said.
"The city's finances are strong," James said.
While some cutbacks were good, more cuts would have been better, said Councilman Tony Tinsley, who voted against the final proposal Monday with Councilman Kevin Stoltz.
Tinsley wants the city to abandon plans to build a new community center. Because Monday's budget amendments did not halt those plans, he voted against them. The city plans to ask for bids for the project later this month.
Blocking the city from attracting overly optimistic bids is important, Tinsley said.
"My fear is that the council is going to look at some estimate and say, 'Oh my gosh. Look at how cheap that is. We need to go ahead,' " Tinsley said. "I don't want the council to say, 'We can afford it.' We can't."
Others disagreed.
Because the community center is a capital expense -- not an operational one -- it shouldn't be mixed into the 2009 budget discussion, Councilwoman Jennifer Gregerson said.
"I understand the tenacity and commitment to the issue from some councilmembers. They are always looking for a chance to stop (the community center)," Gregerson said. "But it doesn't make a lot of sense (in this budget discussion). Any savings from not doing a community center wouldn't have any impact on police, fire, public works or overhead."
Chris Fyall: 425-339-3447, cfyall@heraldnet.com.
Some small savings came from passing on a new costume for McGruff the Crime Dog and scaling back on various travel and training budgets.
Bigger savings came from $240,000 in concessions from the city's four labor unions and reducing the amount the city pays for consultants by about $100,000.
In full, the council slashed about $1 million in operation costs from the city's general fund budget. No employees were laid off.
"I think we are in good financial shape -- it's just a matter of being prudent," Mayor Joe Marine said. "I don't know how long or how deep the recession will be. I don't want to skip along like everything is great, and then a year from now have to lay people off."
The council also added roughly $500,000 in new expenses -- mostly to pay the final bills for the new City Hall.
In the end, the council shrunk the city's projected shortfall to $1.2 million.
The city's police and fire budgets were cut only 1.5 percent. Other department budgets were cut as much as 13 percent.
A one-year shortfall isn't going to cause significant problems for Mukilteo, said finance director Scott James.
Deep cash reserves in Mukilteo equal almost 45 percent of the city's general fund budget. Other cities typically have only 8 to 15 percent in reserve, he said.
"The city's finances are strong," James said.
While some cutbacks were good, more cuts would have been better, said Councilman Tony Tinsley, who voted against the final proposal Monday with Councilman Kevin Stoltz.
Tinsley wants the city to abandon plans to build a new community center. Because Monday's budget amendments did not halt those plans, he voted against them. The city plans to ask for bids for the project later this month.
Blocking the city from attracting overly optimistic bids is important, Tinsley said.
"My fear is that the council is going to look at some estimate and say, 'Oh my gosh. Look at how cheap that is. We need to go ahead,' " Tinsley said. "I don't want the council to say, 'We can afford it.' We can't."
Others disagreed.
Because the community center is a capital expense -- not an operational one -- it shouldn't be mixed into the 2009 budget discussion, Councilwoman Jennifer Gregerson said.
"I understand the tenacity and commitment to the issue from some councilmembers. They are always looking for a chance to stop (the community center)," Gregerson said. "But it doesn't make a lot of sense (in this budget discussion). Any savings from not doing a community center wouldn't have any impact on police, fire, public works or overhead."
Chris Fyall: 425-339-3447, cfyall@heraldnet.com.
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