Burlington continues to nibble at budget

Jan. 30--The Burlington City Council continues to examine its budget in an effort to lessen or avoid altogether raising property taxes by 60 cents per $1,000 valuation.

The budget under discussion starts July 1 and ends June 30, 2015, and is often referred to as fiscal year 2015 in city documents.

City Councilwoman Becky Shockley again voiced reluctance this week to raise taxes. She said the property tax can't be considered in isolation, that other taxes and fees are being assessed and collected, which eventually are passed onto city residents least able to pay them.

Mayor Shane McCampbell said he thought he had gotten the property tax down to 15 cents so far and hoped more could be whittled away. He said nine of 10 constituents he's talked with have said, "Please don't raise taxes."

It's not a universal sentiment, however.

"If you ask people if they want a tax raise, 99 percent will say no, and I don't blame them," Councilman Bob Fleming said. "But it is our job to provide a decent amount of services. And we've got this tremendous debt. We have an obligation to do it (raise taxes), not avoid it because we're not going to be elected again, in order to get the debt down. I'm willing to make the sacrifice. It is prudent in the long range."

"I agree with everything you said, except it's usually the poor people in our community who make the sacrifice," McCampbell said.

"My concern is this budget doesn't take down a lot of debt but does improve deficits in a lot of departments," Councilman Tim Scott said.

Scott said the small amount of capital improvements may result in greater costs due to neglect.

City Manager Jim Ferneau confirmed Scott's summary that the 60-cent raise in property taxes would not be increased for five years, and after five years property taxes are to be reduced 50 cents, according to the five-year plan.

He also confirmed Shockley's summary that the 60-cent raise will pay down $450,000 in fund deficits.

Ferneau said the 60-cent raise will not be used to mitigate unplanned costs to combat the emerald ash borer infestation at $150,000, the $500,000 shortfall in local option sales tax receipts and $800,000 the failed franchise fee was to bring in. He said staff has cut further to mitigate some of these costs.

"Why did you put together a budget that increases spending by nearly 2 percent when you knew property growth is 1.1 percent yearly?" Shockley asked. "You knew what you were going to make."

"It is the city council's decision," Ferneau replied. "I am not going to present a budget that cuts positions. This is your community. We can provide you with information in order to make that decision, but you all are charged with the task of providing quality of service."

Ferneau went down the list of suggestions he made for cuts in October, which included eliminating his position.

Shockley turned to another matter. She paraphrased an email from Councilwoman Becky Anderson who could not attend the meeting. Anderson essentially asked why the police and fire departments weren't being asked to cut their budgets as were other departments.

Ferneau pointed out that except for a 2 percent union contract raise in salaries, which was reduced and renegotiated, those budgets are flat.

Shockley said in the city comparisons provided by staff, Burlington's library budget remains the highest, even after being cut $160,000 last year and $240,000 for the upcoming budget.

Library Director Rhonda Frevert said the comparison shows the budget at $1.5 million when it is $1.33 million now and will be $1.27 million in fiscal 2015.

She provided a cost analysis based on circulation. Among the 544 libraries in Iowa, Burlington's is 13th in terms of circulation, which represents any object scanned and checked out, including CDs and books.

Frevert's other comparisons were made to 13 other libraries in areas of similar population.

She said most counties have six libraries but Des Moines County has two, which probably increases use and circulation.

If the circulation-to-staff ration is compared, Burlington Public Library is the third highest among 13 -- only two other libraries check out as many objects with less staff, she said. Frevert's figures reveal only one other library among the 13 with more objects checked out per person.

The total budget, when compared to circulation, is the second lowest among the 13. The building's cost per square foot, compared to the other 13 libraries, is the second lowest, she pointed out.

Health insurance contributions also were analyzed by city staff. Forty-one non-union workers are on family plans. If they contributed an additional 5 percent, their costs would rise $124 per month and save the city about $50,000, Director of Administrative Services Stephanie Stuecker said.

Shockley and Scott agreed city staff should contribute to health care costs.

Stuecker said the budget must be approved by Feb. 14 to publish it in The Hawk Eye prior to a public hearing March 3. She said the budget can be cut but not raised from the published budget.

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