PORT ANGELES — Acknowledging that 2011 is likely to be another tough year financially for the city, the seven City Council members agreed Saturday that they need to do more to involve the public in planning next year’s budget.
“There won’t be any more September surprises,” said Mayor Dan Di Guilio during the council’s first budget work session of the year.
He was referring to the late announcement in 2008 that the city, finding it lacked the necessary funds, was considering closing William Shore Memorial Pool.
Saturday morning’s budget discussion, at which no action was taken, revolved mostly around how council members want to plan for the budget and their priorities.
No spending cuts were proposed, although there was some discussion about using occasional furlough days for staff next year if needed.
City Finance Director Yvonne Ziomkowski told the Peninsula Daily News that based on current economic activity, it appears that the city will receive less revenue in 2011 than it expects to raise this year.
“It’s not looking good, but it’s really too early to tell right now,” she said.
Through March, the city has received 4 percent less sales tax revenue than it did during the same time period last year.
Sales tax revenue — one of the main sources of funding for “core services,” such as police, fire, street maintenance, and parks and recreation — has been on a steady decline since 2007.
Discuss cuts early
In terms of public involvement, council members discussed identifying possible significant cuts as early as possible so that they can be vetted by residents.
“We need to have people on board,” said Council member Brad Collins.
Di Guilio also proposed finding ways to make the budget more easy for the public to understand.
Council members told the staff that the city must continue to seek greater efficiency to hold back expenses.
The meeting was one of the earliest, if not the earliest, budget discussions the council has had.
Di Guilio and City Manager Kent Myers both called it a success.
“Everyone is willing to work together under the difficulties we will be facing,” Myers said.
Ziomkowski said it’s too early to say what may need to be cut for the 2011 budget.
But, she said, staff will continue to find ways be more efficient in order to reduce costs without reducing services.
Last year, the city cut wages and hours for seasonal workers, handed the pool over to a taxing district, reduced hours at the utility payment counter, and started a park sponsorship program to cover park maintenance was ways to reduce costs.
Contract negotiations with the five unions that represent most city employees will have one of the biggest impacts on next year’s budget, staff said.
The city attempted to renegotiate this year’s contracts early in order to eliminate a 2 percent cost-of-living increase.
At the time, the city was considering no cost-of-living wage increases.
The unions rejected the proposal, and every city employee, including non-union workers and department heads, received the same increase.
Myers said the city was able to afford the move because it received slightly more revenue than it initially expected. Providing the increase to all employees was also a matter of fairness, he said.
He said it’s too early to say whether the city will try to negotiate contracts without cost-of-living increases.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
