| Today's Feature Quality of Life Focus in New Budget
City Administrator Tom Short
issued his Budget Overview last week to the Mayor
and City Council. The following is the bulk of
that document:
"On the whole, the fiscal
condition of the City remains good. The City
enjoys a General Revenue Fund surplus which
provides a "comfort level" for fiscal
stability. In 1994, the City Council adopted an
ordinance establishing a minimum surplus in the
General Fund. This minimum balance was adopted at
a level equal to 33% of the City’s annual
operating expenditures. This action provides a
guideline for future budget planning. The City,
due to conservative projections and prudent
financial management over these years, has
accumulated a substantial fund balance. Estimates
for this fiscal year indicate that the fund
balance will total approximately $3,426,568 to
begin the year. In last year’s audit, one of
our auditor’s recommendations suggested
evaluating the City’s current needs and
monitoring and following up on budgeted capital
projects. Further consideration was suggested
regarding maintaining a minimum three-month
operation reserve versus the current four-month
policy. This year’s budget will use some
accumulated fund balance.
"This year’s budget
also reflects a number of Council goals and
priorities. The provision of current funding
levels for city departments, boards and agencies
illustrates the Council’s commitment of
providing the same service levels previously
enjoyed by the citizens of Carthage. The Council
has continued to regard economic development as
an important priority for the City’s
long-term development. The need to maintain and
improve city streets has also been established
and addressed as an important objective this
year.
"A conservative approach
has again been used to estimate the anticipated
1999 revenues. Projecting revenues in a
conservative manner represents another policy
decision of the Council to carefully manage our
financial assets. Sales Tax revenues and Property
Tax revenues are projected based on the
anticipated activity level for programs while
other revenue sources are projected based on
actual revenues received in 1998"
General Revenue Fund-
Revenues
"Total General Revenue
Fund Revenues are projected to increase
approximately 2.58% from the approved fiscal 1998
budget. This amounts to an increase of $138,600.
The two main portions of this increase are
attributable to the Tax category and the Other
General Revenue category. The Tax category is
being projected to increase $121,300 or 3.92%
from the fiscal 1998 approved budget. These
projections are in line with historical trends
seen by the City and continue to be the main
revenue source of the General Revenue’s
Fund’s budget. The Tax category accounts for
approximately 58.44% of the fund’s total
revenues. The taxes in this category are
Property, Sales, Cigarette, Gas, and
Transportation. Some of these taxes are
designated for specific uses by local or state
law. Sales Tax continues to be heavily relied
upon by the City to provide for necessary
services to our citizens. Sales tax is the single
largest item in the revenue budget. We are
budgeting an increase of $80,000 or 5.11% in this
line item. In 1992 the State of Missouri started
collecting sales tax on out-of-state purchases
(local use tax) and remitted the local share to
the cities. In 1996, the Missouri Supreme Court
determined this taxation to be unconstitutional.
In June of 1996, a counter-lawsuit was filed. The
statute of limitations limits claims for refunds
to the past three years. The total use tax
collected by the City (as reported in our audit
report) from July 1, 1993 to June 30, 1996 was
$294,335. Due to unclaimed refunds and work by
the Municipal League and the Department of
Revenue, the City’s amount to repay is
$172,109 beginning April 1998. Several options
were made available to cities. The one approved
by the City Council was to allow a withholding
from various sales tax distributors (option #3)
monthly for twelve and one half months. The
increase projected in sales and transportation
taxes do not include and allowance for this
rebate. We have however, set up an appropriation
in the budget to offset these amounts and to keep
a true picture of actual receipts. The Other
General Revenue category is anticipated to
increase $27,700 or 32.74%. The Interest Income,
Utility Transfer and Worker’s Compensation
Premium Return constitute most of this increase.
"Generally, the revenues
have been established on the conservative side
based on previous years’ experience. We do
not feel the projections are out of line."
Expenditures
"Overall, expenditures in
the General Revenue fund provide for maintenance
at the same level of municipal services as
provided last year. There are no new programs or
new employees being added to he budget. We are
providing for capital equipment for the various
departments of the fund to adequately maintain
current services. We are however, increasing
spending for capital improvement projects. In
this year’s budget we are appropriating
$1,563,000 for capital improvements. Of these,
$763,000 are for various construction projects.
These involve Stormwater projects on Fairview and
River Street to upgrading the storm siren system
in the City. The other $800,000 in capital
improvements are set asides of one type or
another. Five hundred thousand dollars of this is
for the airport relocation, $100,000 each for the
Fairview and Civil War Road interchanges, and
$100,000 for incentives to developers for curb
& guttering and asphalt programs.
"Total General Revenue
Fund appropriations of $6,904,081 are
approximately 27.40% higher than the fiscal 1998
budget. However, this includes the capital
improvements mentioned above. If the capital
items are taken out of each year’s budget,
the increase is 5.77%. This includes a 2% step
increase for employees on the pay plan ( who
satisfactorily complete their evaluation) adopted
by the Council last year and a recommended 2%
cost of living adjustment. This figure also
includes an increase in the hold Harmless payment
for the Library and the Parks and Recreation
departments of 12.91%. An item that will need
further investigation and review is the rationale
for the hold harmless agreement. As mentioned
above, the funding levels for this are scheduled
to increase this year. The "formula"
used to compute the amount was based on the
personal property tax values. As these increase,
so do the reimbursements amounts to the various
Boards. This year we have agreed with the
respective boards to reduce the amount from that
requested by 4.5%. This was based on a 3.5%
estimated amount for uncollectables (based on
prior history) and a 1% collection fee by the
City
"The budget for this
fiscal year is basically a status-quo budget with
the major change being the City’s commitment
to capital improvement projects. The projects
recommended for approval are much needed and are
not new to the Council. These projects have been
discussed previously but funds were not available
to undertake them. This year, a conscience
decision was made to use unallocated accumulated
fund balance money to fund these projects and
diminish the fund balance to a more realistic
number considering the City’s overall
needs."
Conclusion
"We can take pride in
living and working in the City of Carthage. Our
City has mode significant progress for our
citizens. We have provided infrastructure to
support continued community development including
improving arterial roads, overlaying residential
and collector streets with City, State and
Federal funds. Additionally, we are working with
developers in a partnership to provide for
expanded opportunities for our citizens as
evidence by our agreement with the 71A
Partnership. We are also providing for expansion
of our water storage and distribution
capabilities with the two new water towers. We
are also in the process of expanding the
treatment capacity at the Wastewater Plant. All
in all the City is accomplishing improving the
quality of life for our residents.
"Future accomplishments
will address the needs for expanding services.
The 1998-99 budget addresses the need for high
quality public services and provides for a
responsible and practical plan to achieve our
goals. We believe this budget sets a responsible
course for the future of our city, leading us
into a stronger, more formidable position in the
years to come.
"In closing, I would like
to express my appreciation to the Mayor, Budget
Ways & Means Committee, the Council, and the
Department Heads for their diligent efforts in
making this budget year successful. We have made
some changes in the budget process and I thank
everyone for their understanding and patience in
this effort. Additional changes to improve the
process will continue to evolve."
Respectfully submitted,
Tom Short
City Administrator
Commentary
Martin "Bubs" Hohulin
State Representative, District 126
It is with some
hesitancy and trepidation that I write this
column, but I promised you I wouldn’t shy
away from tough issues and I intend to keep that
promise. Please keep in mind as you read this
that it is not my intention to be judgmental of
anyone or their situation, I am just telling you
how the law has been changed and what the results
may be.
I am talking about the issue of
child support payments, or nonpayment,
visitation, and custody. This has been a hot
topic in the Legislature the last couple years as
dominant thinking has changed in regard to cus
tody. It used to be that the mother was
automatically given custody unless proven to be
grossly unfit. Increasingly, judges have begun
looking at which situation would be best for the
children. This has been a positive step, although
we still have a long way to go. I guess it must
be a hot topic with the public as well since the
last seven years I have been in office I have
received more phone calls regarding child support
and custody problems than anything else. Kind of
sad, isn’t it? Some of the stories just
break my heart and others make me furious.
In this year’s bill there
were about two dozen substantive changes. While
some of these just dealt with court proceedings
others will have an impact. One such change is
that the noncustodial parent that is paying child
support will now be allowed to receive a summary
of the expenses paid on behalf of the child. I
really think this will be a positive step. I have
lost track of the number of calls I have received
from a parent telling me they aren’t getting
enough child support only to be followed with a
call from someone telling me their ex spouse just
took the support payment and used it to make a
boat payment.
Another change will make
interfering with visitation and custody subject
to the same penalties as not making support
payments. Again, I receive many calls from
parents complaining they haven’t received
their check on time only to be followed with a
call from someone telling me they are not being
allowed to have their child that weekend because
their ex is upset about something. To me one is
just as bad as the other.
Probably the most heartbreaking
change in this bill is the one that allows a
court to require a neutral location for the
exchange of a child and to have a neutral third
party present at the exchange. Think about this
for a moment. I’m not saying this isn’t
needed in some situations, but if it has come to
that, think what kind of impact that is having on
the kids. If kids are going through that in their
formative years, chances are they are going to be
calling me (or one of my successors) with their
own set of problems in a few years.
I guess the bottom line of all
this is that we can make all the laws we want.
But until BOTH parents make the decision to put
the interests of their kids first and foremost,
much of what we do in Jefferson City will
continue to be just a Band-Aid on a gaping wound.
As usual, I can be reached at
the House Post Office, State Capitol, Jefferson
City, MO 65101 or 1-800-878-7126 or
mhohulin@services.state.mo.us for your questions,
comments, or advice.
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