09-26-11 Public input on proposed 2012 budget

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S(0)UTH 4 G F •y v d 1865 Office of the Mayor NEWS RELEASE September 26,2011 3:30 pm Public input on proposed 2012 budget Contact: Mikki Dobski, Director of Communications&Special Projects, 235-5855 or 876-1564 or Gregg Ziemara, City Controller, 235-9216 The South Bend Common Council will conduct a public hearing during its regular meeting Sept. 26 on the City of South Bend's proposed 2012 budget. The balanced General Fund spending plan of$64.4 million represents a 1-percent decrease from the current fiscal year. The Council meeting begins at 7 p.m. Monday, in the 0-floor Council Chambers of the County- City Building, 227 W. Jefferson Blvd. Although the Council will receive public input at Monday's meeting, action on the proposed budget is scheduled for Oct. 10. The General Fund, which pays for general government and public-safety functions,represents the largest of six segregated sections of budget accounts requiring Council approval. The overall City budget—which includes pensions,road projects, capital investments and user-funded accounts like utilities—is proposed to be $263.4 million, down 2 percent from 2011. On the expenditure side,the budget retains public-safety forces at full strength, including the addition of five new firefighters in 2012. Efforts to reduce abandoned housing through demolition of substandard structures again will receive $500,000 in funding in 2012, while staff in the South Bend Parks and Recreation Department will continue to operate a full complement of programs. "We've presented a balanced budget to offer some flexibility so that the new mayor can consider launching some new initiatives fairly quickly," said Mayor Stephen J. Luecke, whose term expires Jan. 1, 2012, after nearly 15 years as South Bend's longest-serving mayor. "Despite a loss of$21.3 million in property tax revenues for 2012 as a result of the state's tax caps,the City of South Bend is in strong financial position through reduced spending, conservative fiscal policy, local option income tax increases and fiscally responsible behavior."