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Citizen Budget Input
Please Read before submitting your suggestions!2010 Revenue Situation: The table below illustrates the City's current general fund revenue situation. General fund expenditures keep the day-to-day operations of the City running, such as personnel and equipment for the Police Department, Parks, Recreation, Municipal Court and other services. It does not include funding for things like construction, quality of life projects and public art programs that are separate. In this table we've included 2007 revenue data, which was used last spring to estimate revenue for the 2010 budget. At the time, this conservative estimate was thought to be adequate. Now, with sales and use tax revenue expected to drop to 2006 levels and an anticipated drop in property tax collections of 15 to 20 percent, there are additional pressures on the 2010 budget. At this time (July 2009), new revenue projections are more in line with 2006 revenue, resulting in an estimated 2010 shortfall of $4.8 million.
| Tax Category |
2007 Revenue |
2010 Original Revenue Estimate |
2010 Revised Revenue Estimate |
Original Estimate vs.
Revised Estimate |
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Sales & Use Tax
Property Tax
Miscellaneous
Intergovernmental
Licenses & Permits
Fines & Forfeits
Charges for Services |
$ 33,727,000
9,084,000
5,451,000
5,359,000
1,007,000
2,565,000
7,701,000 |
$ 33,980,000
10,244,000
5,676,000
6,626,000
568,000
3,000,000
8,807,000 |
$ 31,695,000
8,112,000
5,320,000
6,565,000
535,000
2,974,000
8,859,000 |
$ (2,285,000)
(2,132,000)
(356,000)
(61,000)
(33,000)
(26,000)
52,000 |
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Revenue Total |
$ 64,894,000 |
$ 68,901,000 |
$ 64,060,000 |
$ (4,841,000) |
Balancing Budgets: The city is required by law to operate with a balanced budget. In local government, which is almost completely a service organization, a drop in sales and use tax and property tax revenue creates direct impacts on employees and the services provided by those employees. Seeing the writing on the wall, City officials took a pro-active approach in 2006 by instituting a hiring freeze, which during the last three years has left more than 60 positions vacant. The only exception is public safety where personnel have been added annually since 2003.
Now that we are halfway through 2009 and the economy has worsened, we recognize that additional measures are necessary. With 2009 sales tax revenue projections estimated at $2 million below budget, we have already taken the following actions:
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2009 Budget Reductions Implemented To-Date |
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$ 700,000 Eliminated raises for all non-union employees
$ 891,000 Used contingency funds saved via 2008 budget savings
$ 124,000 Continued hiring freeze for additional positions
$ 300,000 Eliminated travel and training |
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$ 2,015,000 Total Savings |
What's being done for 2010? Because of anticipated shortfalls in sales and use tax and property tax, drastic action in 2010 will be necessary to reduce budgeted expenditures by more than $4.8 million. We will continue to tighten our belts in 2010 with many of the same cost saving measures from 2009, plus additional measures. The table below demonstrates steps we've taken so far in reducing the deficit in 2010 from $4.8 million to $2.0 million:
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2010 Budget Reductions Already Planned |
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Goal: Balance Budget by Reducing Expenditures $ 4,841,000 |
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$ 790,000 Eliminated raises for all non-union employees
630,000 Saved by not implementing non-union raises in 2009
600,000 Additional 11.5 full-time positions held vacant
300,000 Eliminated travel and training
200,000 Eliminated 2010 health insurance rate increase (employer share)
118,000 Eliminated Police sworn non-union raises (sergeants, lieutenants, captains)
90,000 Eliminated vacation "buy-back" (employees turn in leave time for pay)
49,000 Juvenile Assessment Center state grant covers this expense
40,000 Eliminated Police non-sworn uniform allowance
17,000 Eliminated Fire-Rescue sworn non-union raises (division chiefs) |
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$2,007,000 Still Needed to Balance 2010 Budget |
What will not help? Some expenditures are mandated by law or earmarked for specific programs that don't affect the general fund or cannot be changed without a vote of the people. Here are a few examples:
· Quality of Life projects : projects like the refurbishing of Lincoln Park and neighborhood infrastructure improvements are funded through a dedicated sales tax increase that was approved by voters in 2003.
· Road maintenance : the Sales Tax on Food purchased for home consumption is designated for capital maintenance including the repair of streets, buildings and parks.
· 1% for Art Program : This program designates 1% of construction projects for permanent works of art. The funding for this is obtained from construction/development funds and does not impact the general fund. Furthermore, there are many projects that don't qualify for art including projects funded by the food tax fund, grant-funded projects, and water/sewer/stormwater replacement funds.
· 34 Xpress bus route : This program is funded 100% by CDOT and federal/state grants, which does not impact the general fund.
· New parks : New parks, roads, and fire stations are funded from development fees. Due to the decrease in building permits over recent years, these types of projects are on hold.
· Contingency Funds : The City has a contingency fund equal to 5 percent of the prior year's general fund expenditures. This provides a cushion to absorb fluctuations in general fund revenues. Unfortunately, we need to view decreased revenues as a long term reality. Relying on contingency funds to help balance the 2010 budget would leave us in the same predicament in 2011.
Where do we go from here? We will do everything we can to minimize the types of actions being taken in other cities, but it is necessary to evaluate every aspect of how our City government currently operates. We will continue to analyze options including cuts in services and supplies, early retirement, furloughs, layoffs, and changes to employee benefits.
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Additional Information Available |
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City of Greeley Budget Page www.greeleygov.com/Finance/BudgetReporting.aspx |
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Council Worksessions - September 8 & 22 at 6 p.m. - 919 7th Street
Budget Public Hearings - October 6 & 20 at 6:30 p.m. - 919 7th Street |
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