Council passes 2012’s $5.8 million budget
January 6, 2012
By Christina Lords
After a six-month process from its July budget retreat to final adoption, the Newcastle City Council voted to unanimously pass its 2012 budget Dec. 6.
But many members of the council said they won’t start patting themselves on the back anytime soon.
“I still encourage the Finance Committee and council to look to the long-term solution of how we’re going to be a viable city,” Councilwoman Carol Simpson said. “This was a good Band-Aid again … I still think we still have a lot of work cut out for ourselves in the next four years to put ourselves on track.”
The budget includes funding for several projects at Lake Boren Park and maintains the parks manager position held by Michael Holly, who faced an uncertain future after the council directed city staff to suggest positions and/or services that could be reduced.
“It’s a good budget. It’s a responsible budget,” Deputy Mayor Steve Buri said. “We have done an awful lot of cutting over the last three years, and I think most of the residents are pleased that those cuts have come without serious reductions in service.”
The city’s projected revenue for 2012 sits at about $5.8 million — an increase of about $147,700 from the preliminary budget released in October. Some of that increase includes money from the council’s Nov. 15 decision to cover the city’s anticipated $61,000 shortfall between revenue and expenditures for 2012 in part by taking an allowable 1 percent increase in property tax.
Residents can expect the city’s portion of their property taxes to increase an additional $11 next year for a $516,000 home — the typical home price in Newcastle as assessed by King County.
Aside from the property tax increase, the city anticipates an increase of about $85,000 in development revenue after new information was made available to the city about projects that are expected to take place during 2012.
A handful of general fund expenditures were reduced after the council voted to reduce City Manager Rob Wyman’s contingency money that acts as a cushion for unexpected expenses by $10,000 and voted to reduce the city’s communication funding by $5,800.
The council debated funding a parks project to install a maintenance garage at Lake Boren Park for the city’s Parks Department that would enable employees to have a place to store tools and equipment and provide a place to work on city vehicles during inclement weather.
Wyman said employees have been in situations in the past where they have had to park under a local bank’s overhang to do repairs out of the weather.
The maintenance facility project is budgeted for $150,000.
Simpson, who made a motion to remove the project from the budget until the city can determine if it would be more cost effective to contract park maintenance work through an outside agency or to maintain city of Newcastle employees for the work, said more time is needed to seek alternatives.
“It’s a capital need that exists today, and it’s existed for years,” Wyman said. “The guys, through all winter and not to mention the rain, do all the repairs outside. They have no place to park a vehicle and do repairs in a place that’s not only warm, but in a place where it’s not snowing or raining on top of them.”
The council also reduced a proposed project totaling $75,000 for a covered stage at Lake Boren Park to $50,000.
“It encourages staff to be cost-conscious,” Buri said. “I know they already are, but it probably could be done for less.”
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