The first public hearing of Starkville”s proposed 2012 budget didn”t include much input from citizens, though two aldermen criticized the lack of allocations for capital investments.
During the board”s regularly scheduled meeting, Tuesday, Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. Perkins noted the $200,000 of new money added to the overall estimated ending fund balance of $735,000 won”t be sufficient to address an incomplete ditch on Carver Drive and flood control for Maple Street. The Carver Drive ditch, a long-running issue that Perkins said will take an additional $200,000 to complete, has been a neighborhood hazard and an eyesore due to lingering waste caused by water buildup.
“It”s a delinquent matter for decades now,” Perkins said of the Carver Drive ditch. “It is very good to have money in the bank and save, but it”s going to be hard to operate this city and take care of recurring expenses. It”s hard to get APAC into our city for less than 400K. In the budget, we need to have additional moneys for Carver Drive.”
The proposed budget, which could raise $234,536 from the FY2011 budget of $16.02 million, was unveiled with no new tax increases and no additional funding allotted for department equipment needs. The budget does include a 3-percent pay increase for city employees, effective Jan. 1, to help curb the growing issue of employee retention. Alderwoman and budget committee chair Sandra Sistrunk said the small increases in spending are powered by “organic growth” from sales tax and decreased spending in other areas.
Both aldermen pointed to the city”s initiative to add a future 3.49-mill property tax increase to fund the $8.5 million construction of a new police station. An additional 2.46 millage increase is expected to help fund the construction and renovation of City Hall.
A mill is worth about $180,000 in the city of Starkville.
Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn also noted recent bond issues for OCH Regional Medical Center and Starkville School District as reasons his constituents who are dealing with insufficient drainage, balk at the idea of another tax increase.
“It don”t please people with the way we”re thinking,” Vaughn said. “All of our focus seems to be on putting pressure on people with new taxes. There”s more important issues than the municipal complex.”
“We”re obviously not funding infrastructure like we”d like to,” Sistrunk said, noting the ending fund balance doesn”t reflect remaining work to finish Pat Station Road and should be closer to $405,000. That figure, however, will change in real time depending on when taxes are paid or money is spent. Additionally, some funds are restricted.
Maintaining a steady balance will help the city keep a positive bond rating and also take advantage of grant opportunities that require a matching amount.
Keeping a lean budget, despite deficiencies in city infrastructure, is in the city”s best interest, Mayor Parker Wiseman said just before recess.
“Not too long ago, we were rated by Moody”s (credit-rating agency) and were in serious danger of getting our credit rating downgraded,” Wiseman said. “They gave us a negative outlook. The specific criticism we were given is if you don”t get your ending fund balance up you will get downgraded.”
Another public hearing on the 2012 budget will be held during the next board meeting on Aug. 16, after which the board will have its first opportunity to adopt the budget.
In other news, the board voted to table the proposal to adopt of Phase 1 of the facilities master plan, which will comes with a tax increase to fund the construction of the new police station.
The discussion between the board members centered around the interpretation of the property tax changes between Phase 1, which will add 3.49 mills to the current 20 mills, and Phase 2, which will add 2.46.
Phase 1 would begin in 2012 while Phase 2 would begin in 2014. The second millage increase would come into effect after the first, combining for a total increase of 6 mills.
Ward 5 Alderman Jeremiah Dumas, who prepared the presentation, said he showed the millage increase from phase to phase but not the cumulative total.
“The confusion came when you take into consideration homestead exemption and what it would mean to home value,” Dumas said. “There weren”t any issues with the rate, but what the actual impact would be on various home values. Everybody seemed very supportive of the master plan, though.”
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