Shoreline’s proposed $78.9 million budget for 2006 is not only balanced, but has the added bonus of continuing to provide city services at a consistent level.
“It is a balanced budget,” city manager Steve Burkett said, “and we are able to continue to provide the same level of service in the past without increasing our taxes.”
The Council is expected to adopt the budget on Nov. 28.
A few new items in the 2006 budget include $77,000 to allow the city to take responsibility for all street lights, which are currently being paid for by residents directly to Seattle City Light. The budget also includes funding for an urban forest study to evaluate all the trees the city owns, which would build on and evaluate all the trees in the city’s parks, Burkett said.
“Out of the study we hope to have some proposals about how to manage the city’s forests in the future,” Burkett said.
City finance director Debbie Tarry said the city is able to maintain services without substantial tax increases. The property tax rate for 2006 will actually decrease to $1.18, a 5.6 percent decrease from the $1.24 rate in 2005, she said.
Some enhancements in the budget, Tarry said, may include offering electrical permits in the city, so customers do not have to travel to Everett or Bellevue. The revenue is expected to offset the program’s cost, she said.
Human services funding in the budget has been increased to $83,000, Tarry said. The Council previously approved a one-time allotment of $62,000, which was maintained in the 2006 budget, with an additional $21,000, she said. This will be used for some one-time purchases, such as a handicapped-accessible van for the parks and recreation programs.
At the end of 2006, it is projected that in the operating budget, the city will have about $8.1 million in reserves, Tarry said.
“We are in the position to maintain,” Tarry said, “and in some areas are finding ways to increase, such as economic development and human services.”
The proposed budget also includes a recommendation to enhance economic development efforts with a focus on small business. The city manager recommends that the city contact with Community Capital Development and the Environmental Cooperative of South Seattle to establish an on-going program to assist small businesses for $95,000.
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