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SIERRA VISTA — Families may be looking carefully at their budgets this season, and there’s a similar process going on at City Hall.
But instead of cutting down on trips out to eat or buying generic instead of brand names, the city is more likely to implement a hiring freeze for certain departments and hold off on constructing of some large projects, such as the new youth center, a new Veterans’ Memorial Park band shell and Garden Canyon Linear Park.
“The key to next year’s budget is preparing now,” said City Manager Chuck Potucek.
And next year’s tentative budget will likely be leaner, and ways to cut it down are being planned.
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“We want to do this without using any of our reserve funds that we’ve been steadily building,” said David Felix, the city’s finance manager.
For now, city officials are predicting about a 10 percent cut from state shared revenues, Potucek said. This year state shared revenues came to about $16.41 million, or about 19 percent of the city’s $87.5 million budget.
Other city revenue sources also could shrink in the coming year.
City sales taxes, which include taxes for utilities, restaurants, hotels, retail and other services, have been lower than expected.
The city’s most recent data on sales taxes from sales in July and August show slower growth than expected.
The city expected sales taxes to grow by about 1.7 percent this year, but sales taxes revenues are just over 4 percent, or about $200,000, less than expected so far.
The situation isn’t unfamiliar for the city, which has had a reduced budget four times in the last nine years. Like other governments, city officials have dealt with economic downturns, including those caused by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and U.S. savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s, Potucek said.
As was done last year, city departments also will probably be asked to create leaner budgets, Potucek said.
For a department such as Communications and Marketing, that might mean they’ll be looking at ways to get information to residents through the Web, rather than printing information, said manager Marie Hansen.
The city’s financial situation was one of the items discussed at a recent City Council retreat.
Mayor Bob Strain said the council members seem to agree the plan being created is workable.
It’s the council’s priority that cuts don’t have an impact on current personnel, and layoffs are not expected, Strain said.
Hiring for some new positions, including an accountant and a new building inspector, and rehiring for positions that are left from retiring personnel may be deferred until budgets begin to increase again, Potucek said. But, he added, police officer and other public safety jobs would continue to be filled.
The city also is looking at deferring capital improvement projects for a few years.
Likely projects to be held include work on some parks, street repairs, as well as projects that are largely funded by the state.
This year the city had hoped to swap federal funding for a Charleston Road widening project for state funds to be able to build the project to city and state standards and at less cost.
Those dollars won’t likely be coming this year, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation. So, city staff members have recommended holding the project until 2010, when state funds may be more available.
The City Council will consider an option at its Tuesday meeting to allow Sierra Vista’s federal funds to be used for Bisbee’s Arizona Street project. Sierra Vista would then be in line for funds next year. The Bisbee City Council has approved the proposal.
Other city projects, such as the planned water treatment plants, will be dependent on development impact fees or whether commercial and residential projects are being built.
Assistant City Manager Mary Jacobs said other projects may fare better in the next few years with the aid of the Sierra Vista school district and Fort Huachuca.
The city hopes to add more baseball fields by partnering with the school district to create a park with city and school district land at Joyce Clark Middle School and Town & Country Elementary School.
The city and Fort Huachuca also may be able to work together to create a flood control basin in the city’s West End, Strain said.
The City Council will meet in February to begin planning new two-year goals for its strategic plan, while keeping a leaner budget in mind.
Herald/Review reporter Laura Ory can be reached at 515-4683 or by e-mail at laura.ory@svherald.com.
Independent wrote on Nov 28, 2008 10:35 AM: