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0 TH U �b:li � ��T e� �Y��p EN D i FEBRUARY 2008 13t,"14", , 1 Mayor? STFphry J. LcFckf Letter from the Mayor Dear Friends and Neighbors, There has been much discussion recently about prop- erty taxes. These funds pay for important services: police and fire protection, parks, libraries and schools. Economic develop- ment and street repairs are also supported by property taxes, but we have become too reliant on them. We need a broader, flexi- ble funding stream for local government which is stable, ac- countable and equitable. It must ensure an adequate source of revenue to support key services — and any change to the current system should be revenue neutral so there is no windfall gain, nor catastrophic loss of revenue. For three years I have been an advocate for Hometown Matters, a proposal that would allow cities and towns to create a mix of local taxes, including sales and income, reducing reliance on property taxes yet still meeting communities' needs. I believe that it is still the best option to fix our property tax mess. How- ever, as I write this letter primary attention is focused on HB1001, the Governor's plan for tax caps. This plan is really a tax shift, not a tax cut. It imposes an additional 1% sales cap statewide and will force local governments to impose an income tax to replace lost revenue. The tax caps of 1% for homeowners, 2% for other resi- dential property and 3% for business property would cause the taxing units in St. Joseph County to lose $64.5 million per year. County government would lose $9.5M, Mishawaka would lose almost $7M, PHM Schools - $2.5M, South Bend Schools - $9.4M, Transpo - $1.5M, St. Joseph County Library - $2.6M. Revenue for the City of South Bend would shrink by $26.8M! That is over 1/3 of our property tax revenue! These dollars sup- port critical services in our city. The chart on this page shows Expenditures Funded By Property Taxes 2008 Budget Other General Gov't Serv. Code (Animal Control 4 %� 2 /o _2% Engr I Traf. & Lighting 7% Parks & Reco SI LISTED NO ENTIENDE INGLES Y NECESITA AYUOA PARA TRADUCIR :ESTE DOCLI MENTO, O Sl TIENE ALGUNA PREGLINTA, POR FAVOR LLAME AL TED (574) 235 -5858 X IOOO. how property taxes are used in South Bend. If these lost revenues are not replaced, we face dire consequences. We would lose al- most 50% of the funds we use for economic development, funds that have helped to bring over $1/2 billion of private investment and thousands of new jobs to South Bend. We would be in default on three bonds. Other property tax funds would be cut by over 25 %. That would result in: • 17 fewer employees in general government • 65 fewer police officers, and 15 fewer civilians in PD • 7 fewer personnel in our 911 communications cen ter • 62 fewer Firefighters, and 2 fewer office support personnel • That's a total loss of 152 total public safety per - sonel would mean closing our zoo and greenhouse • 7 fewer staff for Code Enforcement and Animal Control • 16 fewer personnel for the Street Department/ Traffic & Lighting • 4 fewer engineers and support staff, losing the cost savings of doing work in -house • 30 fewer Parks and Recreation employees - most likely this would mean closing our zoo and green house (cont'd on next page) S'sAkcadylPlawl_� g South Bend is committed to reducing costs while providing the services that residents and businesses require in a cost - effective and efficient manner. > Reduced city workforce by 95 positions since 2000. > Last year, many city employees received no raise. > Using technology to reduce costs and be more effective: • Replacing incandescent bulbs in our traffic signals with LED lights saving $2.5 million over 10 years. • New street sweepers and pothole patchers allow fewer staff to perform the same or more work. • Use of methane generated at the Wastewater Treat- ment Plant saves $250,000/yr in energy costs. • Consolidation of mowing operations in the City. • Sharing several governmental functions with the County. Police 11 /o Public Safety -.,—Total 53% Com m. & Econ Develop. 21% SI LISTED NO ENTIENDE INGLES Y NECESITA AYUOA PARA TRADUCIR :ESTE DOCLI MENTO, O Sl TIENE ALGUNA PREGLINTA, POR FAVOR LLAME AL TED (574) 235 -5858 X IOOO. how property taxes are used in South Bend. If these lost revenues are not replaced, we face dire consequences. We would lose al- most 50% of the funds we use for economic development, funds that have helped to bring over $1/2 billion of private investment and thousands of new jobs to South Bend. We would be in default on three bonds. Other property tax funds would be cut by over 25 %. That would result in: • 17 fewer employees in general government • 65 fewer police officers, and 15 fewer civilians in PD • 7 fewer personnel in our 911 communications cen ter • 62 fewer Firefighters, and 2 fewer office support personnel • That's a total loss of 152 total public safety per - sonel would mean closing our zoo and greenhouse • 7 fewer staff for Code Enforcement and Animal Control • 16 fewer personnel for the Street Department/ Traffic & Lighting • 4 fewer engineers and support staff, losing the cost savings of doing work in -house • 30 fewer Parks and Recreation employees - most likely this would mean closing our zoo and green house (cont'd on next page) S'sAkcadylPlawl_� g South Bend is committed to reducing costs while providing the services that residents and businesses require in a cost - effective and efficient manner. > Reduced city workforce by 95 positions since 2000. > Last year, many city employees received no raise. > Using technology to reduce costs and be more effective: • Replacing incandescent bulbs in our traffic signals with LED lights saving $2.5 million over 10 years. • New street sweepers and pothole patchers allow fewer staff to perform the same or more work. • Use of methane generated at the Wastewater Treat- ment Plant saves $250,000/yr in energy costs. • Consolidation of mowing operations in the City. • Sharing several governmental functions with the County.