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Uknowit
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| Joined: | Thu Dec 18th, 2008 |
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| Posts: | 23 |
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Posted: Tue Jul 21st, 2009 11:42 pm |
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| Maybe Ms. Lancaster and the rest of the chiefs in the town should take a pay cut for not doing their jobs. They have not come up with any plans to raise money to help the town, instead they give the town manager a raise, spend thousands of dollars on expanding the police chief's office and pay thousands for entry signs into the town. Great job!!
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Zach Colick
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| Joined: | Mon Jan 15th, 2007 |
| Location: | Sun City |
| Posts: | 376 |
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Posted: Tue Jun 16th, 2009 08:59 pm |
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Editor's note: The following story appears in the June 17 Town of Paradise Valley Independent. Post comments by hitting reply in the upper right-hand corner. Comments will be posted in an upcoming issue of the Town of Paradise Valley Independent.
TPV approves its preliminary 2009-10 budget
Maintaining essential town services critical for residents
By Zach Colick
Independent Newspapers
A challenging economy and gloomy financial outlook has prompted the Town Council to consider a leaner and meaner budget for the 2009-10 fiscal year, but residents have been assured that proposed cuts and reductions won’t impact services many consider essential to the town and its citizens.
A public hearing is scheduled 7 p.m. Thursday, June 25 at Town Hall, 6401 E. Lincoln Drive, for residents to discuss the merits of the town’s proposed 2009-10 fiscal year budget.
The Town Council could authorize the budget’s implementation at the meeting, which would provide for continuity of town services and operations.
The 2009-10 fiscal year begins July 1.
With revenues expected to drop 25 percent over the coming year, resident Richard Warren asked town leaders during a June 11 Town Council meeting whether essential town services — namely a responsive police department and continued maintenance of town roadways and infrastructure by the Public Works Department — will be cut.
Town Manager Jim Bacon emphasized the town never considered cutting essential services, regardless of the town’s financial condition, and will not raise taxes on its citizens.
“From a staff perspective, we think we’ve been able to limit the impact on residents and make (cuts) be felt elsewhere in the town,” he said of the budget process to date.
He noted there have been employee reductions and department cuts in order for the town to remain in the black.
Mr. Bacon spoke primarily about how the repaving of 30-plus miles of town roadways and burying 58 miles of utility lines along major town streets and in older neighborhoods saved the town a considerable amount of money this fiscal year.
Rather than wait to address those issues in the future, the town benefited from receiving lower bids from contractors who sought the work for a cheaper price in order to remain competitive with others wanting to complete the work.
In a brief PowerPoint presentation, Management Services Director Lenore Lancaster reiterated that the reduction of 15 town employee positions — some were already vacant, others were due to employee attrition — saved the town $1.6 million.
The town also saved $147,000 in next year’s budget with the reduction of overtime granted to Paradise Valley Police Department officers.
Because the town this fiscal year repaved more than 30 miles of town roadways, officials sought the elimination of annual slurry seal costs of $221,000. The town also reduced its annual contribution by $100,000 to the Scottsdale Convention and Visitors Bureau and will pay $600,000 next year.
Mayor Vernon Parker lamented recently that the CVB can no longer remain a “sacred cow” and that annual funding contributions will continue to be scrutinized.
That is because the economy still has a stranglehold on the troubled housing and resort industries, both of which the town heavily relies on to sustain itself. The town does not collect property taxes from residents.
With a down economy, Ms. Lancaster has forecasted general fund revenues at a paltry $16,296,000 for the 2009-10 fiscal year, a 25 percent dip compared to the current budget.
Projected revenue for the next year:
• Local taxes — sales, use and bed tax revenues — account for 45 percent of total town revenues and are expected to drop significantly next year.
• Sales and use-tax taxes are expected to bring in $5.3 million (32 percent of the town’s revenue sources) and bed taxes will bring in just $2.1 million (13 percent of the town’s revenue sources). The largest expected decrease will come from local sales tax figures at $2.6 million, while the largest decrease by percentage is from building permits at a 58 percent decline.
• Building permits, which the town relies on heavily for revenue and were a major source of revenue during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 fiscal years, will also be down next year. Analysis indicates only $756,000 will come in, accounting for only 5 percent of total revenues.
• Only franchise fees, which are expected to generate $1,044,195, will show gains over the currently budgeted amounts.
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