Commissioners will hold a public hearing and vote on the budget at a special meeting at 6:45 p.m. today at the City Hall Forum, 76 E. High St.
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The proposed cuts to the budget include:
• $269,000 from the Municipal Court budget and $182,000 from the Municipal Clerk of Court budget.
• $200,000 from the National Trail Parks and Recreation District.
• $100,000 in overtime for police officers and firefighters.
• Transferring the Transportation Coordinating Committee membership from the general fund to the street fund, which will save the general fund $40,000.
City staffers had recommended about $1.5 million in cuts next year.
But eliminating the funding to a local tourism agency, and closing Fire Station No. 5 and the Johnny Lytle Police Substation aren’t included in the budget that will be voted on tonight.
Commissioners decided to make cuts now that they could all agree on while the other changes might be discussed in the future, Springfield Mayor Warren Copeland said. A budget must be approved before the end of the year so the city can pay its bills next year, he said.
“It doesn’t mean the others won’t still be looked at,” Copeland said. “It’s just that we needed to get something done and so we’re going to do what we think we can get done.”
The city continues to try to work out an agreement with the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau on its $417,000 in funding, Copeland said.
Staff members believe additional cuts should be made, Springfield Finance Director Mark Beckdahl said, and it’s possible they could be discussed tonight.
“We made those commitments and I think we have to follow through on those commitments,” Beckdahl said.
The initial budget released last month shows the city is projected to generate $38.4 million in general fund revenues next year. However, the city is estimating $39.8 million in spending — leaving a $1.4 million deficit.
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Commissioners had discussed approving a temporary budget to buy more time to examine cuts, but Beckdahl said the budget proposal voted on today will likely be the final one for 2017. The city will continue to make reductions throughout the year to trim the budget deficit, he said.
“There are some operational things we are going to continue to do or plan on doing to reduce that deficit further,” Beckdahl said. “They don’t need to be in the budget, per se. They are management items.”
At the beginning of this year, the city faced a $930,000 deficit, which he said has already been reduced to about $600,000 That could be reduced even more to end up at $300,000 to $400,000 by the end of the year, Beckdahl said.
“We would hope to close that gap a little bit more,” he said.
The cuts to police and firefighter overtime will leave the city with about $300,000 in overtime for next year, down from the recommended $400,000. City safety officials and union leaders have said the reductions may lead to slower response times.
National Trail Parks and Recreation District will receive about $700,000 in operating money. The district will also receive about $175,000 to make improvements to the parks.
The Splash Zone Family Aquatic Center shouldn’t be in jeopardy to close next year, Director Leann Castillo said. The district recently ceased running Reid Park Golf Course after the city came to an agreement with a private manager for next season, allowing it to keep the pool open.
The district will likely freeze hiring, she said. It will also have to make contingency plans because it could be cut another $150,000, Castillo said.
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“We understand what’s happening and we understand that every department supported by the city budget is going to have to make sacrifices and we know we’re a part of that process,” she said.
Municipal Court Judge Gene Nevius wants the court to receive all of its money, he said.
“I fully expect our budget to be approved as submitted,” Nevius said.
City staff members have had little discussion with the judges and the clerk of courts about the budget, Beckdahl said.
Clark County Municipal Clerk of Courts Guy Ferguson couldn’t be reached for comment.
During the election, city leaders said up to 10 civilian workers at the police division could be laid off and replaced by removing officers from the streets if the levy failed. It also said it would lay off up to 25 non-represented employees if voters rejected the tax increase, many of whom work at City Hall.
Those are administrative decisions, Copeland said, and not budget decisions that are handled by commissioners.
“They affect the budget but I think they are decisions that the administration makes, not the commission,” he said. “We don’t decide on individual personnel.”
Some city staff members, residents and union leaders have asked commissioners to consider going back on the ballot with another tax increase in May. Copeland personally believes the commission should try again, but said he needs other commissioners to support that.
The average voter will better understand the issue in the coming months, the mayor said, and wants to give them another shot.
“That would be my preference, but obviously there have to be at least two other people who agree with me,” Copeland said.
BY THE NUMBERS
The following cuts could result in about $800,000 in savings for the city of Springfield, including:
• $269,000 from Municipal Court budget
• $182,000 from Clerk of Municipal Court budget.
• $200,000 from National Trail Parks and Recreation District.
• $100,000 in overtime for police officers and firefighters.
• Transfer Transportation Coordinating Committee member to street fund, which will save general fund $40,000.
Staying with the story
The Springfield News-Sun has written extensively about the city’s budget since Springfield commissioners approved going on the ballot for an income tax increase earlier this year, including stories digging into audit recommendations and proposed cuts.
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