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WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. Special to WPCNR from Budget & Management Committee Member, Tim Sheehan. May 7,2009 UPDATED WITH CLARIFICATION, (in italics)10:35 A.M. EDT: The Mayor’s Budget& Management Committee met Wednesday evening and is expected to recommend to the Common Council that use of fund balance to balance the Mayor’s $160.7 Million budget be limited to $5.4 Million (down from $11.4 Million). The committee, in addition recommends implementing taxi medallion sales, towing fees and increased mortgage taxes to generate $2 Million, and recommends $4 Million in reduced expenditures.
Chairman of the Budget and Management Committee Benjamin Boykin did not return a telephone call to confirm whether he was behind those recommendations and would report them out to the Common Council.
Tim Sheehan said the $4 Million in reduced expenditures, if not found by the council in the budget, may have to come from personnel reductions and increases in the share city workers pay in benefits, or possibly wage reductions and regrettably, layoffs, if not found elsewhere..
Sheehan said the city may have to consider asking city workers to pay 20% of their health benefits,and retired workers pay 10% of their health costs as one way of cutting city expenses. Sheehan sent this statement to WPCNR Thursday morning, clarifying this proposal::
“Currently, only police/firefighters who are on the job for the first 5 years pay a portion of their health insurance. Everyone else contributes nothing to the premium costs. My proposal to reduce the amount of fund balance applied to this year’s budget (which would require union approval as part of a concession package) requests that active full time employees contribute 20% and retirees 10% of the City paid health care premiums, which would save the City $3 million per year. I remain doubtful that this giveback will be accepted.”
Sheehan added that the committee recommends that 5% of the budget not be held back from the departments as proposed previously by Acting Budget Director David Birdsall, but rather be available to the Common Council to cut those expenses now to contribute to the $4 Million in expenditure reductions recommended by the Committee.
Sheehan credited Larry Delgado with bringing together a consensus observation that though several committee member “reports” conflicted, that it was Delgado’s sense that the Committee members did not want to use $11.4 Million of the remaning $17 Million fund balance to balance the 09-10 budget. After Mr.Delgado made this observation, Sheehan said, he made the suggestion of $5.4 Million fund balance use mixed with the $4 Million in expenditure cuts and $2 Million in new fees.
Sheehan said Committee member Pat Austin recommended using less fund balance ($3.4 Million).
Sheehan added though that his $2-$4-$5.6 mix was made under the assumption that the ¼% sales tax proposal voted down by the Common Council Monday evening) would eventually be enacted. Sheehan said the Council has 12 months to enact the sales tax as an option to bulk of revenues in 2010-11. Sheehan said the city will have the same problem in 2010-11, that of replacing fund balance and cutting expenditures.
“No one will come out and say that, but someone has to say it,” Sheehan observed speaking to WPCNR Wednesday evening. Sheehan said the committee feels the council should look at leasing the two municipal garages. “They should at least look at it.”
Sheehan observed the Mayor’s Conference room was “packed” with police, fire and CSEA personnel,and he hoped that the city’s precarious budget situation was sinking in.