39.9 percent tax hike?

According to figures provided at a City budget workshop last Monday, an increase of that magnitude to a homeowner with an assessed value on their property of $200,000 will result in their 2010 property tax rising from $1,076.97 to over $1,500/year.

At this point, a gap between expected revenues to expenses stands at $6.5 million dollars. Every revenue to expense gap of $165,000 results in a potential 1 percent property tax increase. 

Monday's budget workshop contained budget requests by the two city departments with the largest annual budgets (Department of Public Safety and Department of Public Works) along with the Department of Accounts detailing their budget requests for the 2010 fiscal year. The other city departments (Mayor's office, Recreation department and Finance department) had made similar presentations last week.

In total, all departments combined requested an increase of 4.31 percent in expenses over 2009 projected totals. A breakdown of each individual City departments year-to-year requests appear below:

Recognizing the potential impact on Saratoga Springs citizenry, Saratoga Today attempted to contact all City Department Commissioners, the Mayor's office, and the Recreation Department to survey them as to what plans they might have for their departments to contribute further cuts in expenses, possible revenue enhancements, or anything that would close the 2010 budget gap. We further asked for each Commissioner's overall perspective on the city budget regarding other departments' revenues and expenses and potential future systemic changes to the process of budgeting.

At press time, we have received responses from, Ronald Kim (Commissioner of Public Safety), Mayor Scott Johnson, John Franck (Commissioner of Accounts) and Kenneth Ivins (Commissioner of Finance). Their remarks are detailed below.

The next city council meeting is on Tuesday, October 6, at which time a draft budget is to be formally presented. We will continue to try to contact everyone relevant and relay any other responses we receive in next week's Saratoga Today.

Commissioner Kim - Public Safety

Overview: Public Safety has the largest budget of any City department. For 2010, Commissioner Kim has requested a total of $20,217,617.30 which is an increase of 2.9 percent over 2009's projected total.

Regarding any further cuts to his budget this year, Mr. Kim was emphatically resistant: "No, not in my department... essential city services have to come first, and if we cut more than we have, we compromise the public's safety. You don't eat dessert before dinner."

"We've made cuts; our budget contains many collectively bargained mandated increases for employee benefits and compensation which are more than the percentage increase we are requesting."

When asked about the City's other departments and the system of budgeting in general, Commissioner Kim, currently a candidate for Mayor, had plenty to say:

"Number one, the rec. center (recreation center on the South side of the City) must stop. They are projecting a 25 percent increase in expenses and that is just the beginning, for it is based on projected revenue increases (12.33 percent) which cannot be obtained unless there is associated support from other departments."

"This is insanity to regard the rec. center as a fait accompli in these economic times."
"I would also reorganize the Mayor's legal department. We pay out $250/hr to attorneys to negotiate our collective bargaining agreements. The City has a firm on retainer (Harris Beach out of Rochester) that we pay $2,400 a month to sit around and wait for consultations on labor issues. That's $28,000 a year to wait. I think we can certainly do better in this area."

"It is obvious that concessions (from unions) are going to be part of the picture at some point. But if concessions are needed, we need to look at how we negotiated in the first place. We need to have the entire city council involved and cooperating with each other through the process." 

Mayor Johnson

Overview: Mayor Johnson requested $2,369,150.43, a .33 percent decrease from 2009's projected budget of $2,377, 040.40.

Johnson said he is currently going through each line item in his request to see what other possible cuts can be made. One thing he is hoping for is cooperation from the labor unions.

"We need to make a collective effort to get these numbers down and traditionally that has been difficult," he said. "The main issue is job protection and avoiding layoffs so we need to take a fresh look at existing contracts and consider a wage freeze."

He added that about 90 percent of the budget is labor, wage and benefits.

"With a $37 million budget, $30 million of it is payroll so we seriously need cooperation from the unions," Johnson said. "What is most important is that we maintain a city that is affordable while still making Saratoga Springs a good place to work."

Commissioner Franck - Accounts

Overview: The Accounts department's expense budget request for 2010 is $1,507,590.61 which is a reduction of 5.37 percent from 2009.

"Our department is the smallest in the City, but we are all going to have to make cuts to balance this... I will be looking in the areas of professional fees and perhaps property tax refunds if possible; we should be able to come up with another $150,000 off the expense side."

Regarding the City as a whole, Commissioner Franck said: "Let's be realistic - all departments are going to have to make cuts in expenses. The important thing for the citizens to know is that this is not a 'false budget' where revenues are kept artificially low."
"We need to look at switching our 911 dispatching over to the county; that could save us $800,000."

"Do we really need two horses (mounted patrols) on Broadway in November? When times are good, these things are fine..."

"Non-essential services can be scaled back... the City will not collapse if we pick up leaves every 10 days instead of seven... we should look into the savings if we hired an outside payroll consultant."

"But we all have to bite the bullet, and included in that is the need for union concessions... it's either that or layoffs and wage freezes. There's really no other way to make the number."
"... and if we have 68 vs. 71 police here, we wouldn't all of a sudden have a crime spree. Nor do we need to send fire trucks out on calls that clearly EMS can handle alone, like a twisted ankle in Congress Park.

"We can also try to sell some odd size lots that have fallen to the City... hopefully we can put a few on the tax rolls...and look for automation savings where possible."

"But now is the time to get this done. There's no better time to put the City's financial house in order." 

Commissioner Ivins - Finance    

Overview: The Finance department requested $1,923,594.54 for 2010, a reduction of 5.15 percent from 2009's projected budget. According to Commissioner Ivins, a "perfect storm" has caused the rift in the budget.

"The loss of VLT (video lottery terminal) money took $3.8 million from our budget and the economy has affected sales tax revenue," he said. The city is expecting near $8 million in sales tax revenue, whereas last year the city received $9 million.

"As city officials, we want to provide the services that the city needs and requires, but the services need to be affordable. We don't have a choice but to cut services," Ivins said. He is asking all departments to make cuts to their requested budget and once new drafts are submitted, he will look through every single line item in the requests and will make major cuts."

"I'm very sensitive to the needs of the taxpayers. They cannot afford a tax increase in the double digits. A 40 percent increase is outrageous and inexcusable. We need to make drastic cuts and if the council members are not willing to do that, I'll be forced to make the cuts myself," Ivins said.