City of Salisbury FY13 Budget

Mayor’s Budget Message

Citizens, Taxpayers and Salisbury City Council:

Citizens of Salisbury deserve a comprehensive assessment of the financial state of the City. This FY 2013 budget message explains the impact of assessable base losses over the past 3 years, the reduction in the size of the city government to offset those losses, the fiscally conservative spending directions of this administration, and the amount of surplus savings the City has banked in the recent past.

Fiscal Year Ended
Actual
% Change from
30-Jun
Value
Previous Year
2004
$1,458,135,767
6.1%
2005
$1,585,794,577
8.8%
2006
$1,679,233,266
5.9%
2007
$1,832,493,066
9.1%
2008
$2,079,779,681
13.5%
2009
$2,300,114,378
10.6%
2010
$2,501,327,556
8.7%
2011
$2,330,729,348
-6.8%
2012 (EST)
$2,130,550,825
-8.6%
2013 (EST)
$2,109,605,014
-1.0%

The chart above shows citizens the decrease in property values the City has experienced in 2011, and what the estimated losses are for the remainder of 2012 and 2013. Since FY 2011 there has been a decrease of $221 Million in assessable base. This equates to $1.728 million dollars in lost property tax revenue to the City. Our assessable base has shrunk 16.4% in 3 years.

In this FY 2013 budget, it is clear that my administration continues to shrink the size of government. Department heads have slashed $1.6 million from their operating budgets during the period of FY10-FY13. Again, our employees, through General Fund budget cuts, furlough days, and frozen or unfunded positions have saved taxpayers $4.622 million. City government is operating, this year, at 2008 levels with fewer employees yet with identical dollars.

I will not ask City employees to take furlough days again this year. I am proposing a 3% increase in health insurance costs to our employees.

Though the City is slowly emerging from the economic downturn, my priority continues to remain in the most critical areas of importance to our citizens: Law Enforcement, Emergency Medical Services, Infrastructure and Neighborhood Integrity.

In the area of taxes and fees there will be no increase in water and sewer rates from the City this year. There will be no increase in landlord registration fees. After 4 consecutive years of no property tax increases, I am proposing a 1.5¢ increase on the property tax rate from 81.9 cents to 83.4 cents per $100 dollars of assessed property value.

This FY 2013 budget invests in city priorities in the following ways:

Law Enforcement
168K – 5 Police Vehicles and Equipment
31K – Police Officer 1 and Police Officer 1st class rank advancement

Emergency Medical Services
48K – 1 Ambulance
25K – Portable Radio Replacement (1/2 of radios)

Infrastructure and Neighborhood Integrity
50K – City-wide dam safety repairs
15K – S. Division Street bridge repairs
40K – 1 Sanitation Vehicle (Trash Truck)
35K – Waste Removable Vehicle (Dump Truck)
750K – Street Maintenance Program
512K – Street paving
201K – Street sweeping
864K – Street lighting
50K – Structural Inspection and repairs on Salisbury Marina piers/bulk heading
7.5K – City Wide Playground Maintenance

The City of Salisbury maintains, on behalf of its taxpayers, a budget surplus in both its General Fund and in the Water and Sewer utility. Since 2007 the City has put an average of $887K in General Fund surplus each year. The chart below indicates the calendar year and the amount of tax dollars put into surplus by the city.

General Fund

Change in Surplus

FY07-FY11

FY07
603,992

FY08
1,983,070

FY09
2,260,108

FY10
(1,048,161)

FY11
635,587

$886,919
Average addition to surplus for the last 5 years.

The fiscally conservative and responsible way the City departments spend taxpayer dollars has allowed us to return unspent monies to the City surplus each year. Due to general accounting rules of budgeting the amount of surplus is not officially known until after the City audit is completed, a full 8 months after the budget for the next fiscal year is approved. If the audited financial statements for June 2012, which the city does not receive until December 2012, reflects a general fund surplus addition that meets or exceeds the 1.5¢ property tax increase that I recommend this year, I propose to refund city property owners the amount of the tax increase or lower the tax rate by the same amount in the FY2014 budget year. Of the $9.5 Million that Salisbury has in surplus presently, I am proposing that we spend $1.24 Million on capital improvements, city-wide paving projects and as an offset to the loss in property tax revenue.

Mayor James Ireton, Jr.
City of Salisbury

Publishers Notes: Tax hike, hitting surplus, budgeting based on one of the years of highest revenue (2008) yet revenues from real property are down significantly and worse next year, less employees yet same cost as 2008…leaves one scratching their head.

The Mayor does have veto power, so whatever budget is passed will probably be on the heads of Jim Ireton, Shanie Shields and Laura Mitchell. Whatever they want, they will ultimately get.

On a side note: Laura Mitchell says that she fought hard for the flush tax and wished it had been more. For those of you who voted for her, Idiots!

New Posts to fall below.