When the City of Carlsbadistan’s new fiscal year begins on July 1, 2011 it will be with a balanced budget according to City Finance Director Chuck McBride.
“By creating a balanced budget that doesn’t rely on borrowing from reserves or other short term fixes, we are on solid ground moving forward,” said McBride. “Over the past few years, as we saw our revenue projections start to decrease, we reduced spending accordingly, focusing on finding efficiencies rather than cutting public services.”
The City seems very proud that this budget will allow the “city libraries and community centers to remain open seven days a week” and that “police and fire services will remain at their current levels.” Strange to be excited by not making cuts to core services, but such are these economic times. Follow the jump for more info on where cuts were made.Carlsbad maintains good financial health, adopts a balanced budget
The City of Carlsbad will start the new fiscal year July 1 with a balanced budget, following the City Council’s adoption Tuesday of a $259.8 million spending plan that continues the city’s effort to streamline government while maintaining quality city services.
“By creating a balanced budget that doesn’t rely on borrowing from reserves or other short term fixes, we are on solid ground moving forward,” said Chuck McBride, the city’s finance director. “Over the past few years, as we saw our revenue projections start to decrease, we reduced spending accordingly, focusing on finding efficiencies rather than cutting public services.”
In the fiscal year 2011-12 city budget, city libraries and community centers will remain open seven days a week, police and fire services will remain at their current levels, and the city will continue to maintain and improve streets, pipes and other important infrastructure.
The spending plan includes an operating budget of $195.1 million and a capital improvement budget of $64.7 million. The operating budget provides the funding for the day-to-day work of the city including police and fire services, libraries, recreation programs, utility services, and park and street maintenance. The Capital Improvement Program outlines the financing plans for the city’s major construction projects including civic facilities, roads, water and sewer lines, as well as other infrastructure needs.
The fiscal year 2011-12 budget is $6.8 million, or 3.6 percent, higher than the fiscal year 2010-11 budget. The city’s operating costs, such as energy, employee salaries and benefits, and the cost of water, have continued to increase, meaning the city has needed to reduce costs in other areas just to stay about even.
To balance the budget, the city trimmed an additional 14.75 vacant positions from the city workforce, bringing the total reduction since the start of the recession to 36.5. Savings from the 14.75 positions is about $1 million.
In 2010, the city entered into new contracts with its police and fire employees. Those contracts require employees to pay the full employee share of their pension benefits. The new contracts also decreased the pension benefits for new police and fire employees. Also on Tuesday, the City Council approved an agreement with its general employees with similar provisions as the police and fire agreements. The savings from the new general employees contract are not yet reflected in the budget.
The city will save about $300,000 annually because 7,000 streetlights were recently replaced with a new energy efficient model. The city was able to reduce its fleet budget by about $300,000 annually by waiting longer to replace some vehicles. The library is able to reduce its budget to buy new materials by $75,000 without significantly affecting the overall quality of the library’s collection, assuming current community donations continue.
Although core city services have remained intact, staffing cutbacks could result in the public having to wait longer for routine service requests, such as street light replacements or street repairs. Tree-trimming and landscaping at parks and other city property is being done less frequently than in the past. The city has discontinued printing and mailing some informational materials that can now be found on an upgraded city website.
Among the key priorities identified by the City Council for the fiscal year 2011-12 budget is an increased focus on working with the business community, both to help existing businesses in Carlsbad prosper and to attract new economic development to the city. Traffic management is another key priority, including a new computerized system to synchronize traffic signals and improve pedestrian crossings along the beach, in the Village and other streets with heavy foot traffic.
The city is also working to complete a property exchange with the state that would free up coastal land around Carlsbad Boulevard and Palomar Airport Road, supporting city goals for increased coastal access and economic development. Providing open space is also an important priority. In fiscal year 2011-12, the city will start construction on Alga Norte Community Park, complete major work around Lake Calavera and continue to add to its 40-plus miles of public trails.
Fees for city services are normally adjusted annually with the rate of inflation, but have not been raised over the past two years due to the recession. Some fees will be increased in the fiscal year 2011-12 budget. A list of fee changes can be found on the city’s website.
The budget assumes an increase in water and sewer rates to cover the city’s costs to provide those services. These increases will be determined at a separate public hearing to be held in the next two to three months. Water rate increases are due primarily to the increased cost of buying imported water, which makes up 100 percent of the city’s drinking water supply. Sewer rates need to be increased to cover the cost of providing sewer service and comply with new regulations.
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