Indiana

Ballard?s Balanced Budget

By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard will announce tonight that the city?s budget is balanced. The Ballard administration announced earlier this year that the city faced a $26 million shortfall. In a Sunday afternoon briefing, City Comptroller Dave Reynolds said they closed the shortfall and managed to have $4.8 million left over.

The overall budget was $1.13 billion dollars which was $108 million less than last year. However, $99 million of that was taken off the rolls when the State assumed the child welfare levy. However the city still faced a revenue shortage.

Administration officials say the closed the budget gap by having most agencies cut their budgets by 5-percent from last year?s appropriations for an $8.5 million savings.  They also took money from the fund balances in the sewer  and storm water management funds.  They consolidated the functions of the township assessors into the county assessor; $3 million in savings assuming the consolidation referendum passes this November. They also reduced the parks budget by $3 million ($500,000 of that is arts funding), the Courts budget by $2.3 million (although there will be an additional court brought on-line) and the Sheriff?s budget by $5.5 million.

When asked about the cut to the Sheriff?s department, Reynolds said he hoped MCSD would be able to find efficiencies, particularly at the jail. The current jail costs taxpayers $100 per day per inmate, while the private run jail costs $42 per day per inmate. Reynolds said he was not expecting the Sheriff to reduce his costs to that of private jail, but hoped Frank Anderson would look for efficiencies.

Reynolds also said the Parks Department had been operating at a $4 million deficit and cuts were necessary to keep them fiscally sound.

Ballard Chief of Staff Paul Okeson said the city has to live within its means and for too long had been living off credit and could not afford to do that anymore.

Despite the cuts, there were increases in the city budget. There was nearly a $20 million increase in police and fire. That money will go for union-negotiated raises, new vehicles, pension obligations and to hire more than three dozen public safety officers to handle police administrative duties which in turn frees up more officers on the street. There also a $5 million increase in the Department of Metropolitan Development to deal with neighborhood infrastructure and abandoned housing. There was $4.4 million increase for roads and transportation.

There was also a $232,000 increase in the Mayor?s budget. Okeson says that increase was a result of putting employees who work for the Mayor under the Mayor?s budget. In the past some employees had been funded by other departments. Okeson says it goes to the Mayor?s objective of transparency in budgeting.

While the city?s short-term financial crisis may have been avoided, Reynolds said the city still has long-term financial problems. Expenditures are still expected to exceed revenues and the city will fall short of having a recommended 10-percent savings in its fund balance. Reynolds says the city will have to address those issues and one way to stop that would be by adopting the Kernan-Shepard government consolidation plan.

The Mayor will address the full Council tonight at 7 p.m. The first budget committee hearing is expected tomorrow. A public hearing will take place on September 8 and a final vote on September 22. Copies of the budget proposal will be available on the city?s website.

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Full post as published by Indiana Barrister on August 11, 2008 (boomark / email).