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The city Finance Committee today recommended full city council approval of a 2010 budget that is leaner overall compared to 2009, and includes no local property tax increase.
The final 2010 budget doesn't look much different that the preliminary one approved in September, City Clerk/Treasurer Betty Arvidson said. Both versions include a "zero percent" levy increase for 2010, or $1.5 million.
The 2010 budget totals $9,747,179, about 7 percent less than 2009, and the general fund total of $4.4 million is down slightly more than 4 percent compared to 2009, she explained. The budget factors in $385,000 less in Local Government Aid from the state, as a result of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's unallotment to balance the state budget.
The 2010 budget factors in no wage increases for staff, Arvidson said, "but maintains our current staffing level."
Since everyone assumed today's updated State of Minnesota budget forecast, released earlier today, would be bad for 2011 as well as the 2012-13 budget biennium, Arvidson, City Administrator Aaron Parrish and the department heads have been strategizing on which capital improvement expenses can be delayed the longest. The numbers released today from St. Paul will give the city a better sense of where things stand, Parrish said, but it's not known if any further LGA unallotments will be forthcoming. The city is due an LGA payment in December; a year ago, that payment was reduced by Pawlenty.
"Indications are that the governor this time around might defer to the legislature," Parrish said. The 2010 legislative session will convene in February.
Early this afternoon, Pawlenty left open the possibility of using his executive power to unallot more LGA as part of the process of erasing the $1.2 billion deficit.
Parrish expects to have more information for council members at their January Finance Committee meeting.
"We haven't identified specific capital improvements yet (that would be put off); we'll go through that in January," Parrish explained. "There are certain ones in need of moving ahead, but others are more discretionary."
Such budget adjustments are a "different way of doing business for us in an era of unallotment," he added. "There are things we have to do to maintain some flexibility."
The city Finance Committee today recommended full city council approval of a 2010 budget that is leaner overall compared to 2009, and includes no local property tax increase.
The final 2010 budget doesn't look much different that the preliminary one approved in September, City Clerk/Treasurer Betty Arvidson said. Both versions include a "zero percent" levy increase for 2010, or $1.5 million.
The 2010 budget totals $9,747,179, about 7 percent less than 2009, and the general fund total of $4.4 million is down slightly more than 4 percent compared to 2009, she explained. The budget factors in $385,000 less in Local Government Aid from the state, as a result of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's unallotment to balance the state budget.
The 2010 budget factors in no wage increases for staff, Arvidson said, "but maintains our current staffing level."
Since everyone assumed today's updated State of Minnesota budget forecast, released earlier today, would be bad for 2011 as well as the 2012-13 budget biennium, Arvidson, City Administrator Aaron Parrish and the department heads have been strategizing on which capital improvement expenses can be delayed the longest. The numbers released today from St. Paul will give the city a better sense of where things stand, Parrish said, but it's not known if any further LGA unallotments will be forthcoming. The city is due an LGA payment in December; a year ago, that payment was reduced by Pawlenty.
"Indications are that the governor this time around might defer to the legislature," Parrish said. The 2010 legislative session will convene in February.
Early this afternoon, Pawlenty left open the possibility of using his executive power to unallot more LGA as part of the process of erasing the $1.2 billion deficit.
Parrish expects to have more information for council members at their January Finance Committee meeting.
"We haven't identified specific capital improvements yet (that would be put off); we'll go through that in January," Parrish explained. "There are certain ones in need of moving ahead, but others are more discretionary."
Such budget adjustments are a "different way of doing business for us in an era of unallotment," he added. "There are things we have to do to maintain some flexibility."
