Monroe struggles to fix $131,000 budget gap

Published 10:20 pm Monday, November 23, 2009

MONROE — By Mayor Donnetta Walser’s reckoning, it’s been a frantic month.

For the third night in eight days, she will head to City Hall for an evening meeting with the City Council as the group tries to balance its budget before the state-mandated deadline of Dec. 31.

Council members have whittled away at a hefty general fund deficit in the past week, bringing it down from $290,000 to $131,000. However, with most stones overturned, fewer options remain going into tonight’s meeting.

“We’ve exhausted a lot of our choices,” Walser said.

Council members have yet to find their silver bullet, but a few ideas may come to the forefront at the meeting. One plan would find the city raising water utility rates. The other ideas would sidestep a tax increase by either making more trims or using the rainy day fund.

Two main forces drove the budget into the red. Sales tax revenue has dropped in the city of 17,000, and officials had to remove revenue estimates tied to the construction of a big-box store still in the development stage.

A 5 percent water utility rate increase could remedy the problem by raising $168,000, city officials said. The increase would raise the bill for the average user by $1.69 a month, or $2.53 for those who live outside Monroe but are on the city’s system.

Additionally, the Department of Corrections would pay $1,792 more a month for service at the Monroe Correctional Complex.

While that plan has some tentative support, it’s far from a favorite. Councilman Tony Balk, who suggested the idea, said he would only support it if no other cuts were possible.

“There are cuts still to be made,” he said. “Until that is exhausted, we don’t talk about taxes.”

Councilman John Stima tends to agree. He said outside a 1 percent property tax increase, he can’t back any other hikes. Unlike Balk, however, he supports using the city’s $871,000 rainy day fund.

Stima said the money could act as a “placeholder.” Mayor-elect Robert Zimmerman might be able to cut $250,000 from the budget after he assumes office, Stima said. The rainy day fund could fill the gap until then.

“I think we can probably save that much,” Stima said.

Zimmerman has mentioned the possibility of $250,000 in cuts to Stima.

“There was nothing that I would put my finger on at this point, not having had the opportunity to sit down with staff at the director level, to look more deeply,” Zimmerman said. “That would be something I would have to do after the first of the year.”

The current fixes aside, the council has made progress on the budget in recent days.

Council members came to some firm decisions during a special meeting on Thursday, carving out about $160,000 in savings. They tabled the $86,000 hire of a building inspector, delayed hires for two other positions, held off on two promotions, and cut the city attorney expenses by $50,000.

With the budget moving towards the black, several feel it will be balanced by Dec. 15, when it is scheduled to be adopted.

“It always seems we run it to the end,” Stima said.

Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455, arathbun@heraldnet.com.

Monroe budget

The Monroe City Council is scheduled to take up its budget at 7 tonight at City Hall, 806 W. Main St.

More info: 360-794-7400 or www.ci.monroe.wa.us.