Finance Director Ron West
With residential property still the city's mainstay for income, taxes will continue to increase until economic development takes hold, officials said Thursday in a budget presentation.
"The homeowner bears the burden," Finance Director Ron West told a roomful of residents at the Senior Center.
Taxes will increase by $129.37 on the average home valued at $113,000, West said as he gave a slide show of fiscal realities for 2014. Last year, the increase was $166.06.
Mapp and West outlined strategies to stabilize the tax rate going forward, such as increasing the collection rate, auctioning off foreclosed properties and selling city-owned tax lien titles. Settlement of union contracts and addressing repeated audit recommendations could also help. The full presentation is posted on the city web site, along with the Municipal Data Sheet, which compares revenues and expenditures for 2013 and 2014.
The total budget is $75,028,647, with the largest portion going for public safety costs. The budget includes new positions including chief of staff at $80,000 and a media director at $85,000. The position of recreation superintendent will be restored at $80,000.
The total budget is $75,028,647, with the largest portion going for public safety costs. The budget includes new positions including chief of staff at $80,000 and a media director at $85,000. The position of recreation superintendent will be restored at $80,000.
Mapp said the city needs to "re-brand" itself in order to attract developers and new businesses that will improve the economy.
Although the presentation was labeled as the "introduced" budget, the meeting at the Senior Center preceded a regular council meeting where the governing body voted to introduce the budget. The administration's budget is now in the hands of the council, which can review and amend it before final passage. Mapp said he had invited the council to move their meeting to the Senior Center in order to hear the presentation, but the offer was declined.
At the council meeting in Municipal Court, a majority of the governing body balked at putting Mapp's six-month temporary appropriations on the agenda as a new item. William Reid, Gloria Taylor, Vera Greaves and Council President Bridget Rivers voted "no" and Rebecca Williams and Cory Storch voted "yes."
Storch asked Corporation Counsel David Minchello to explain the results of not making temporary appropriations by March 31 and Minchello said the city would not be able to run the city or pay employees. But Rivers said the council's Finance Committee wanted to meet with a budget consultant first and then hold a special meeting next week to deal with appropriations to run the city.
The budget consulting firm was only approved at the Thursday meeting and Rivers did not know which member of the firm would actually serve as the council's consultant. Storch said he never recalled a consultant dealing with a temporary budget, only with deliberations on the introduced budget. But Rivers, having called for a "sound temporary budget", said it was "not fair" the way the temporary budget was presented on Jan. 6 and on Thursday.
Storch wanted all members to agree on a date for the special meeting, as five votes would be needed to approve the appropriations, but Reid said he wanted to get a date when the consultant could be there. A further complication is that there are two meetings already scheduled next week, one Wednesday on the Affordable Care Act and one Thursday on a city-sponsored study of the Muhlenberg site.
Storch, who serves with Reid and Taylor on the council's Finance Committee, said he was surprised at the turn of events and added, "We have to do better."
--Bernice
Although the presentation was labeled as the "introduced" budget, the meeting at the Senior Center preceded a regular council meeting where the governing body voted to introduce the budget. The administration's budget is now in the hands of the council, which can review and amend it before final passage. Mapp said he had invited the council to move their meeting to the Senior Center in order to hear the presentation, but the offer was declined.
At the council meeting in Municipal Court, a majority of the governing body balked at putting Mapp's six-month temporary appropriations on the agenda as a new item. William Reid, Gloria Taylor, Vera Greaves and Council President Bridget Rivers voted "no" and Rebecca Williams and Cory Storch voted "yes."
Storch asked Corporation Counsel David Minchello to explain the results of not making temporary appropriations by March 31 and Minchello said the city would not be able to run the city or pay employees. But Rivers said the council's Finance Committee wanted to meet with a budget consultant first and then hold a special meeting next week to deal with appropriations to run the city.
The budget consulting firm was only approved at the Thursday meeting and Rivers did not know which member of the firm would actually serve as the council's consultant. Storch said he never recalled a consultant dealing with a temporary budget, only with deliberations on the introduced budget. But Rivers, having called for a "sound temporary budget", said it was "not fair" the way the temporary budget was presented on Jan. 6 and on Thursday.
Storch wanted all members to agree on a date for the special meeting, as five votes would be needed to approve the appropriations, but Reid said he wanted to get a date when the consultant could be there. A further complication is that there are two meetings already scheduled next week, one Wednesday on the Affordable Care Act and one Thursday on a city-sponsored study of the Muhlenberg site.
Storch, who serves with Reid and Taylor on the council's Finance Committee, said he was surprised at the turn of events and added, "We have to do better."
--Bernice
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