City Hall
City Budget: More Cuts Ahead
The city's general fund will have to take another mid-year, multi-million-dollar hit this year, as revenues have continued to fall short of projections, city budget director Beth Goldberg told the city council's budget committee this morning. The $8.7 million in proposed cuts will actually be less than the city originally anticipated it would have to make, thanks to a larger-than-expected balance in the city's bank account last year and cuts at the state level that were less harsh than they might have been, but will still mean layoffs, unfilled positions, and cuts through "attrition" to departments like fire and police.
You can read about all the specific general-fund cuts for yourself here, but here are some of the highlights:
• The city's neighborhoods department will save $118,000 by consolidating two neighborhood centers, in Delridge and West Seattle, while the parks department will save $1.9 million in part by delaying the opening of planned new parks.
• Some departments are saving money by doing things like cutting the size or cost of their vehicle fleets; for example, Seattle Center will switch from cars to golf carts, saving $39,000 a year, Goldberg said.
• The fire and police departments would reduce their recruiting; however, "coverage in the media that there would be fire station brownouts ... is entirely incorrect," Goldberg said;
• Thanks to funding from the private Seattle Police Foundation, SPD's mounted unit will be saved; however, there was some confusion about whether funding mounted officers---patrol officers who could just as easily serve on foot, bike, or in cars---is the best use of city money.
"I'm grateful that the [Seattle] Police Foundation [which stepped up to pay for the horses] exists and they want to support that, but how do we interpret that when we've made a decision to focus on ... beefing up patrols ... in the budget, but then it's countermanded?" council member Tim Burgess, an ex-cop, asked rhetorically. "[This] is a decision we have made not on the merits of whether the horsies are good or bad," but whether they're a good investment.
Budget chair Jean Godden added that the city spends "a tremendous amount" on hay to feed the horses, and said she had forgotten the police group had decided to pay for their continued upkeep. "I thought they were ghost horses when I saw them," Godden said.
The city will have to make more substantial, programmatic changes in its 2012 budget, when the real policy discussions---about things like whether to prioritize senior services, something council member Nick Licata brought up, and whether to consider partly privatizing city-owned community centers---will take place.
You can read about all the specific general-fund cuts for yourself here, but here are some of the highlights:
• The city's neighborhoods department will save $118,000 by consolidating two neighborhood centers, in Delridge and West Seattle, while the parks department will save $1.9 million in part by delaying the opening of planned new parks.
• Some departments are saving money by doing things like cutting the size or cost of their vehicle fleets; for example, Seattle Center will switch from cars to golf carts, saving $39,000 a year, Goldberg said.
• The fire and police departments would reduce their recruiting; however, "coverage in the media that there would be fire station brownouts ... is entirely incorrect," Goldberg said;
• Thanks to funding from the private Seattle Police Foundation, SPD's mounted unit will be saved; however, there was some confusion about whether funding mounted officers---patrol officers who could just as easily serve on foot, bike, or in cars---is the best use of city money.
"I'm grateful that the [Seattle] Police Foundation [which stepped up to pay for the horses] exists and they want to support that, but how do we interpret that when we've made a decision to focus on ... beefing up patrols ... in the budget, but then it's countermanded?" council member Tim Burgess, an ex-cop, asked rhetorically. "[This] is a decision we have made not on the merits of whether the horsies are good or bad," but whether they're a good investment.
Budget chair Jean Godden added that the city spends "a tremendous amount" on hay to feed the horses, and said she had forgotten the police group had decided to pay for their continued upkeep. "I thought they were ghost horses when I saw them," Godden said.
The city will have to make more substantial, programmatic changes in its 2012 budget, when the real policy discussions---about things like whether to prioritize senior services, something council member Nick Licata brought up, and whether to consider partly privatizing city-owned community centers---will take place.
