PORT ANGELES — The city’s budget is expected to shrink for the second year in a row in 2010, with capital projects and parks and recreation the focus of some of the biggest proposed cuts.
But the police and fire departments would see some increase in funding, according to the first draft of the 2010 budget, which Port Angeles city staff presented to the council at a work session Tuesday evening.
The 2010 budget is anticipated to be about $100 million, about $3 million less than this year’s budget of $103 million.
But despite an overall drop in expenditures, spending from the city’s general fund, which is its main operating account, is expected to increase slightly, from $17.2 million in 2009 to $17.3 million, thanks to $200,000 from reserves.
The amount in the city’s reserve fund is estimated to be at $3.6 million at the end of 2010, said City Finance Director Yvonne Ziomkowski.
In 2009, the city slashed expenses through such measures as dropping financial support of the William Shore Memorial Pool; cutting funding in half the amount it gave to the Arthur D. Fiero Marine Life Center, the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center and the United Way of Clallam County; cutting seasonal staff, and creating a park sponsorship program in which businesses, organizations or individuals took over maintenance of parks.
Now, the city staff says it has to cut overall expenses again, because of declining revenue as a result of the recession.
Sales tax, which is down this year by roughly 15 percent, is projected to drop another $175,630, or 6 percent next year.
“To no surprise, the major challenge is the economy,” Ziomkowski told the City Council.
Overall, the proposed cuts would not be as drastic as in the 2009 budget, when budget-wide spending dropped by about $5 million and the city decided to stop funding the pool.
City Manager Kent Myers said the budget includes no staffing increases, and he added that the city may need to reduce its staff numbers over the next few years.
“The best way to impact our budget is to impact our labor,” he said.
Capital projects, parks
Some of the most notable differences between this year’s and next year’s budget is a $5 million, or 28 percent, drop in spending on capital projects and $266,572, or 11.2 percent, in cuts to the Parks and Recreation Division.
That includes a $80,704, or 5.63 percent, drop in funding for park maintenance, which the city expects will be offset by its parks to be offset by its park sponsorship policy, Ziomkowski said.
About nine parks have been adopted.
Ziomkowski said about half of the difference in Parks and Recreation funding comes from not having to operate the pool, she said.
The drop in funding for parks also includes cuts to seasonal employment that occurred earlier this year, she said.
Youth programs would see a drop in funding of $10,685, or 6.4 percent, under the proposed budget.
More cuts
In 2010, the city staff also proposes again reducing funding for the Arthur D. Feiro Marine Life Center, Fine Arts Center and United Way — by another 10 percent.
The Fine Arts Center would receive $24,750, down from $27,500 in 2009.
The Marine Life Center would get $20,250, down from $22,500 in 2009.
United Way would be funded $56,250, down from $62,500 in 2009.
Funding increases would be seen in the police and fire departments, which are proposed to both have roughly a 4.5 percent increase in spending.
The proposed budget for the Port Angeles Police Department would go up $203,618, from $4.35 million in 2009 to $4.55 million in 2010, while the proposed Port Angeles Fire Department budget would increase by $88,114, from $1.92 million in 2009 to about $2 million in 2010.
Police Chief Terry Gallagher said his increased costs mainly comes from needing new police cars for its two new officers.
The new positions themselves are paid for by a $500,210 federal Justice Department grant that extends over three years.
Gallagher said that only 1 percent of the increase for his department would be from the city’s general fund. The rest comes from the grant.
While the fire department’s budget includes no new employees, Fire Chief Dan McKeen said the additional funding would pay for increased health care costs for employees, cost-of-living allowances, and another $11,000 to pay for volunteer firefighter stipends.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
