The city faces a $7.9 million budget gap between its expected revenues and its proposed spending.
“For everybody to survive, something has to budge,” Mayor Art Ward said.
To close the fiscal hole, the city is likely to cut deeper into next year’s spending plan, tap rainy day funds and perhaps thrash the $3.7 million request that the Board of Education is seeking merely to keep on doing what it is now.
“We have a problem,” city Comptroller Glenn Klocko said.
Both the mayor and city Finance Chairman Rich Miecznikowski said they are angling to keep this year’s property tax bills from rising, which would mean that additional property taxes wouldn’t be available to help.
“Our goal is to have a zero increase,” Miecznikowski said.
“Absolutely,” responded Ward. “There’s not a lot of flexibility there.”
At this point, it’s hard to know how officials will cope with the looming deficit for the budget that begins July 1. Doing nothing would hike taxes by 1.8 mills.
Klocko said that officials may bump up “overly pessimistic” revenue estimates. He said that might bring in another $600,000.
Paring city department budgets – mostly by leaving out money for unfilled positions – might reduce the hole by another $1.7 million or so, Klocko said.
But because Ward has already insisted city supervisors deliver budgets that rise no more than 2 percent – forcing most to leave out every request for new equipment – there’s not much to pare.
Klocko said that rising health care costs for employees is responsible for most of the increase in City Hall’s proposed budget.
On the education side, Superintendent Philip Streifer said he needs a $3.7 million hike in his $101 million budget to maintain existing programs and teachers.
It appears the state’s aid may remain level next year, which would prevent the direst scenarios, but without mandate relief or more money from the city, there’s no easy option for getting the money.
The Board of Education is already eyeing layoffs to make up the gap, a move that would increase class sizes, take a slice out of music instruction and other potentially explosive steps.
At City Hall, too, there is a chance that layoffs may prove a necessity in order to hold the line on taxes, officials admit.
Since there are no projects or equipment to cut, further reductions would be “all about people,” Klocko said.
“We’re going to make it work,” Miecznikowski said, adding that he doesn’t want to see layoffs..
Where does the gap come from?
$3.7 million increase sought by schools
$2.5 million increase sought by City Hall
$1.7 million drop in expected revenues
Note: The figures in this story have been updated to reflect the best information the comptroller's office had as of this afternoon.
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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
32 comments:
Yet Ward stops the BOF from asking for cuts.
Once again Ward talking out of both sides of his mouth.
"Since there are no projects or equipment to cut, further reductions would be “all about people,” Klocko said."
Mall? School property purchases? Stop flushing money down those two black holes and you have an instant surplus. Do the right thing with retiree health care you could cut actually taxes. Get rid of incompetents like Klocko and Streiffer and all your problems are solved.
3:26
Weighing all the options and looking for alternatives is wise. Ward's not the one who's talking out of both sides of his mouth. You, however do seem to be talking out of another orefice.
Did I understand that Kloko plansd to change the revenue numbers that will be submitted by the various department heads?
If so, why didn't he just make out their budgets in the beginning?
And if he is wrong, who will be blamed?
Of course, this will make Artie look good going into the election.
No wonder the BOF (some of them) are riled up.
Next, Kloko will be collecting some of Arts pay.
I thought the COO vote failed.
Where are the Republican watch dogs????
GASB 45 can provide $1.8 million....this year
The City has an $8 MILLION dollar budget gap but they vote to approve $350,000 to buy Starlite Market "to beautify the new school site"???
Crazy fools.
Look like Streifer better get off his duff and starting thinking outside the box and come up with some creative ideas to stretch the current school budget without an increase. That is what we pay him the big bucks for no? Anyone could say "we need more money". It takes a true professional with some talent to use what they already have! If he can't do it, then we need to find someone that can...and pay them the big bucks to do so.
"Note: The figures in this story have been updated to reflect the best information the comptroller's office had as of this afternoon."
Once again Klocko rears his fat head. This whole idea about 5 and 10 percent reductions originated from his office, not BOF. Ask department heads where the letters came from.
“Our goal is to have a zero increase,”
Then why the big controversy over 5 and 10% budget reductions, particularly now that much of the federal stimulus money is going toward education, public safety, health care and infrastructure? Whose big idea was this?
"GASB 45 can provide $1.8 million....this year"
Not GASB. GASB is a red herring. The costs have always been there, so hve 401h and 420 transfers. There is just nobody with enough knowledge honesty or leadership skills at city hall to make it happen.
GASB 45 could offer relief immediately.
Either way the city taxpayer is on the hook for retiree healthcare benefits and their pensions. If there were zero dollars in the pension then these taxes would pay for pensions and healthcare benefits. I do not understand how the city unions can claim they own the pension assets, but not the liabilities. You can not have it both ways!! One goes with the other. If you move this money in the worst market in many people's life time you know the true cost to the pension as things will get better.
I find it very interesting that Obama says we need to spread the wealth around, but his very supporters only want that to mean if it is somebody else's that is being spread around, not theirs. It is a joke!!
Does anyone trust or belive Kloko's numbers?
They shouldn't, especially the mayor.
"GASB 45 could offer relief immediately."
You don't know what you are talking about. GASB 45 is nothing but an accounting rule. The ability to use pension funds to help pay for retiree health care is the issue. Nobody at city hall knows how to get it done. The information being thrown around by Klocko and his gang is incomplete and misleading at best and in some cases just flat out wrong. At least he is no longer a member of the committee. That was a huge conflict of interest. As a taxpayer I am dismayed at how badly this issue is being handled.
Thrash the BOE request!
9:30 & 7:32:
Rules generally creat order. They sometimes PREVENT abuse as is the case in this issue. Enacting the precepts of what GASB 45 is all about WILL creat a more balanced budget for the City (good for future bonding) a stronger likelyhood that these outragious benefits will be provided and it will SAVE TAX PAYERS HUGE DOLLARS.
The best rule of all is to get rid of this over inflated entitlement the unionites perpetrated against the tax payers of Bristol, lead by the democrates who are in the back pockets of the unionites.
8:41 poster,
It's ok to pass the wealth around, just not the Unions!
Why are other towns cutting and Ward isn't? Take a look at what NH did last night. The Unions didn't give any so now they are getting laid off.
Hey Ward, how about working for the Taxpayers instead of your Union boy's? Try doing whats right for once!
9:04
The reason Ward is reluctant to cut is that he remembers when Stortz, as Mayor in the early 90's, cut the budget, cut the staff, and then was strongly opposed by the unions and got beat.
Stortz had the courage, and paid for it!
If the city decided to rehabilitate the existing schools rather than abandoning the current buildings, buying new land, pursueing excess land for ball fields, and constructing new buildings, we would be saving $30 million dollars for school improvements.
This does not account for the expanded busing program to service the buildings at remote locations.
The estimates were $130 million for new, $100 million to rehabilitate existing structures to modern standards.
$30 million is 30 million.
But peanuts in the scheme of things, right?
For sure, they'll be laying off teachers and raising our taxes very soon to cover the difference.
Less teachers, more ball fields, new desks, new bricks means smarter kids, and higher test scores!
Moving Bristol Forward ?
Or moving financial deficits, and intellectual deficits forward?
If, when under Nicastro, and his not raising taxes, the city had gone ahead with the BOE plan to renovate schools, we wouldn't be having this discussion now.
Maybe Nicastro wasn't the great saviour of Bristol that he would like to have us believe!
Don't be surprised ig Kloko changes those numbers week by week!
You got that right. Master manipulator... not for much longer.
Can't Ward see it too?
Or doesn't he want to?
They were warned!
Why did they not get regular updates?
We are in a BIG mess!
7:28
We can thank Art Ward for that. He is afraid to make the tough decisions!
Where is the Revenue gap if tax collections are still high according to Kloko?
The city expects to take in less in building permit fees, conveyance taxes and other charges in the coming year. It is also losing some state aid.
Steve,
Any reports on what the revenue status is for this budget year?
I believe the city is still on track to finish the year with at least a small surplus. They recently added $106K or so to the contingency fund from savings in other departments. The schools are on track to stay in the black.
The question still is: current status of revenue projections for this year.
That is the more uncontrollable part of the budget.
Seems like the percentage of city increase is greater than the percenatge of education increase.
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