09-22-08 Budget Hearing - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Steve Luecke, City department heads and all staff in the Mayor’s office. The cuts are required because House Enrolled Act 1001 will reduce property taxes for South Bend property owners by a projected $21.3 million beginning in 2010. But local governments depend on property taxes for most of their operating revenue, including for public safety, neighborhood services, economic development, parks and basic services. Whether by budget or spending plan, some numbers show little change: ?Public safety spending – money for police, firefighters and the 911 Communications Center – accounts for more than 77 percent of all general fund spending. While proposed public safety cuts are far less than the 27 percent reduction citywide, the size of these departments makes it impossible for them to escape revenue losses unscathed. ?After public safety, spending budgets for the Parks and Recreation and Public Works departments are the only departments reaching at least 10 percent of the overall general fund budget. ?Personnel costs citywide represent 80 percent of the general fund budget. The budget, in essence, provides a best-case scenario, possible only if the City finds sufficient and extensive sources of new revenue. The only option provided to local governments by the state is to increase local option income taxes. St. Joseph County’s th local option income tax is now the 10 lowest of the state’s 92 counties. Without additional revenue, the City administration will ask the Council early in 2009 to approve the proposed spending plans, limiting appropriations to cover the reduced expenditures outlined by departments. In addition to the public hearing tonight, the Common Council will discuss the 2009 budget during its afternoon committee meetings. Final action on the 2009 budget is expected at the Council’s 7 p.m. meeting on Monday, Oct. 27. “We will continue to look for efficiencies in the delivery of service, for opportunities to combine operations, and for ways to grow our economy so that new jobs and private investment will help relieve the impact of the caps,” Luecke said. “I also will continue to lobby for alternative sources of revenue to spread the cost of local government services, so that South Bend will not only survive, but thrive.” - 30-