Indiana

Ballard?s Balanced Budget (Year III)

By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

Indianapolis city officials say what started out as a $126 million decrease in revenue has turned into $55 million in cash reserves.*

Mayor Greg Ballard will present the Indianapolis City-County Council Monday night with a $1.02 billion budget that is down 2.1% from $1.041 billion last fiscal year.

In a Sunday afternoon briefing City Controller David Reynolds said officials had to deal with revenue shortfalls stemming from property tax caps as well as a drop in income tax revenue.  Reynolds said the city lost $36 million due to tax caps and $50  million to a drop in income tax receipts.  In addition the city received $40 million less in stimulus funds than it did last year.  The rest of the shortfall came from a decrease in collections from areas such as fees and fines.

Reynolds told the media the city  managed to close the budget gap by continuing its annul five percent reduction in most agency spending as well as holding the line in other areas.  There were no cuts to public safety however there were no increases either.  Reynolds says that means there won’t be any new hires for the Metropolitan Police department nor the Sheriff. Also all IT projects are on hold.  However, Reynolds says if funding becomes available, those areas could see increases.

The city did have to dip into its rainy day fund to the tune of $17.5 million, however the Controller says he is planning to build an additional $10 million in reserves through strategic hiring, wage freezes and early retirement.  He says the Mayor’s office is also looking at savings through the consolidation of human resources staff from the courts, Sheriff’s department and County Prosecutor.  Each agency would still have its hiring authority, however the city would process the paperwork.

Reynolds added the budget does not include any money from the proposed transfer of Citizens Gas no the recently announced parking deal.  However some transportation and road projects will be paid for with recent PILOT proceeds.  There are savings from the consolidation of Marion County Emergency into other agencies as well as a reduction in crime prevention grant dollars.  The city also managed to save $2.5  million from not having to borrow to maintain its cash flow.

Despite the relatively good news, Reynolds warns that fund balances are getting tight and 2012 will be an even tougher year if there is no growth in Marion County’s assessed value nor income levels.

Below is an overall picture of agency/area spending.

• Public Safety (IMPD, IFD, MECA, etc) – $417 million (down $2.56 million from last year)
• Criminal Justice (Sheriff, County Prosecutor, Courts) -$210 million (down $11.8 million from last year)
• Other Public Services (Parks, Code Enforcement, DMD) – $261 million (down $57 million from last yer)
• Executive/Legislative Branches (Mayor’s offices, Council, County Offices) – $90.5 million (down $4.7 million from last year)

*A quick note, in 2007 the city of  Indianapolis was slated to be running a $100 million to $200 million shortfall by now.  Also in 2012 due to tax caps and reassessments, the average Marion County resident will be paying 33% less than they were back in 2007.

Full post as published by Indiana Barrister on August 23, 2010 (boomark / email).