Adopts Amendments To Cut Spending, Reduce Proposed Tax Rate
The City Council has adopted a budget for 2009. The budget cuts spending by approximately three million dollars and increases the City property tax rate by 5.56%, down from the initial 8.25% recommended by the City Manager. The challenging economic climate made our budget deliberations somewhat more difficult and contentious than usual. Nonetheless, the final budget does include substantial areas of bipartisan agreement, and it reflects the Council’s determination to trim expenses, even at the cost of eliminating some programs for which we have fought in the past.
Download City Manager’s Budget Message
Download City Manager Spending Cut Options
Download Republican Memo from Press Conference
Download Democratic Statement in Response
Download Democratic Statement on 2009 Budget & Long-Term Action
Available for download are several documents that illustrate the budget’s components and track our process of decision-making. If you are interested in this subject, I encourage you to review these items. They are: (1) the City Manager’s initial budget proposal, released in early November and subsequently revised to reduce mortgage and sales tax projections by $1,000,000; (2) a list of budget cutting options presented by the City Manager in late November; (3) a list of proposed cuts offered by the Council Republicans at a press conference on December 1st; (4) a joint statement issued by the Council Democrats in response to the Republican press conference; and (5) a second joint statement issued by the Council Democrats on December 7th outlining proposed cuts and longer-term actions. This last document most directly informs the final adopted budget, and is also helpful as a guide for future fiscal and economic strategy. If you’re pressed for time, reading the first and last document should be sufficient.