Snohomish still feels the budget pinch; revenues sag more
Published 10:51 pm Monday, October 5, 2009
SNOHOMISH — City officials will keep their belts cinched next year to cope with a 6 percent drop in projected revenue.
Empty positions will remain unfilled under the 2010 draft budget, and most city employees won’t get a raise for the second year in a row.
“We’ve kind of weathered most of our crisis during 2009 — made the position reductions and other budget changes we needed to,” city manager Larry Bauman said. “Now we’re just trying to maintain an even strain.”
Administrators will discuss the draft budget with the City Council at a workshop scheduled for 6 tonight.
The biggest issue for the budget is lost revenue. The general fund may shrink by about 6 percent, from $8.3 million this year to $7.8 million in 2010.
Revenue is closely tied to sales tax, which took a big hit during the recession.
To deal with the lost cash, officials may hold off on street improvements.
In a good year, city officials put about $1 million toward street repairs. In 2010, they plan to spend about $350,000, even though that will probably mean a bigger bill down the road.
“Every year that we don’t get out there and contribute significantly to street maintenance means we have more catching up to do,” Bauman said.
The general fund also supports about 73 employees in various departments: police, planning and development, support services, public works and the city manager’s office.
Only the police are due for a contractually guaranteed raise, however. Pay will remain flat elsewhere.
Each department also lost staff in 2009. Most shrank by one employee.
While no layoffs are planned in 2010, those vacated positions will stay vacant.
The budget itself takes effect Jan. 1. Officials may continue to tweak the plan after a series of public hearings and workshops scheduled in the coming months.
“This is not the tablets from on high,” said support services director Danny Weinberg. “This is the recommended budget.”
Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455, arathbun@heraldnet.com
