Published: Friday, August 27, 2010
Snohomish looking for half a million
City will have to raise revenue or make cuts to close 2011 budget gap
SNOHOMISH -- There's a lot of road ahead, but already the city's 2011 budget looks grim.
According to preliminary numbers, the city will be about $500,000 in the red for 2011 if changes are not made to keep expenses in line with tax revenues. The changes could mean cutting services and leaving city positions unfilled.
"Something has to change. We can't be in the hole," said Danny Weinberg, support services director.
The budget planning process is still in the early steps. The city is doing an analysis of all its operations to see what can be cut or where new revenue can come from. Weinberg said revenue has been low, and flat, in recent years and is not expected to change.
The city's main revenue source is from taxes. But sales taxes coming from construction have decreased in the past two years. Meanwhile, expenditures have increased, despite cuts made by the city.
The City Council on Tuesday held a budget retreat to discuss these numbers and voted for their budget priorities and goals for next year. The programs with the most votes were the ones that will develop economic growth, create jobs and stimulate tourism to the city.
Weinberg projects the city will have about $7 million in revenue in 2011, but expenditures will be greater by $1 million. Snohomish will end this year with revenue of $428,411 that will be added to next year's budget.
The city will need $515,654 to balance the 2011 budget and $450,000 to add to its emergency reserve account. The budget has had gaps in the past, but not with a magnitude like this one, Weinberg said.
The process to address the gap is just starting.
"We will do it, but I don't know how," Weinberg said.
One of the biggest questions is how to maintain the city's street maintenance fund. It is projected that the fund will need $790,823 in expenditures but it will only have $223,498 in revenue and fund balance from 2010.
The City Council next month will consider creating a Transportation Benefit District. The council will have a public meeting about the issue on Sept. 21, and then they will vote for it. If passed, the council can then approve adding a $20 fee to residents' car tabs to help pay for street maintenance.
The street fund gets its money from the fuel tax but this year it was also supported by the general fund but is unknown if it will support it next year, Weinberg said. The street fund is managed by the Public Works Division, which made cuts to bridge the gap for the city's 2010 budget.
The department's budget was cut 10 percent and one employee was let go. Now the department has three employees to take care of the street maintenance of the city. With the cuts, the department now takes more time to handle nonemergency calls, like fixing potholes, on the city's 41 miles of roads, manager Karen Latimer said.
"We do our best to meet our priorities with the resources we have," she said.
Alejandro Dominguez: 425-339-3422; adominguez@heraldnet.com.
According to preliminary numbers, the city will be about $500,000 in the red for 2011 if changes are not made to keep expenses in line with tax revenues. The changes could mean cutting services and leaving city positions unfilled.
"Something has to change. We can't be in the hole," said Danny Weinberg, support services director.
The budget planning process is still in the early steps. The city is doing an analysis of all its operations to see what can be cut or where new revenue can come from. Weinberg said revenue has been low, and flat, in recent years and is not expected to change.
The city's main revenue source is from taxes. But sales taxes coming from construction have decreased in the past two years. Meanwhile, expenditures have increased, despite cuts made by the city.
The City Council on Tuesday held a budget retreat to discuss these numbers and voted for their budget priorities and goals for next year. The programs with the most votes were the ones that will develop economic growth, create jobs and stimulate tourism to the city.
Weinberg projects the city will have about $7 million in revenue in 2011, but expenditures will be greater by $1 million. Snohomish will end this year with revenue of $428,411 that will be added to next year's budget.
The city will need $515,654 to balance the 2011 budget and $450,000 to add to its emergency reserve account. The budget has had gaps in the past, but not with a magnitude like this one, Weinberg said.
The process to address the gap is just starting.
"We will do it, but I don't know how," Weinberg said.
One of the biggest questions is how to maintain the city's street maintenance fund. It is projected that the fund will need $790,823 in expenditures but it will only have $223,498 in revenue and fund balance from 2010.
The City Council next month will consider creating a Transportation Benefit District. The council will have a public meeting about the issue on Sept. 21, and then they will vote for it. If passed, the council can then approve adding a $20 fee to residents' car tabs to help pay for street maintenance.
The street fund gets its money from the fuel tax but this year it was also supported by the general fund but is unknown if it will support it next year, Weinberg said. The street fund is managed by the Public Works Division, which made cuts to bridge the gap for the city's 2010 budget.
The department's budget was cut 10 percent and one employee was let go. Now the department has three employees to take care of the street maintenance of the city. With the cuts, the department now takes more time to handle nonemergency calls, like fixing potholes, on the city's 41 miles of roads, manager Karen Latimer said.
"We do our best to meet our priorities with the resources we have," she said.
Alejandro Dominguez: 425-339-3422; adominguez@heraldnet.com.
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