Revised city budget shows $2.6M deficit

Local News

October 27, 2009

Commissioners get look at preliminary draft

Ronica Shannon The Richmond Register Tue Oct 27, 2009, 07:24 AM EDT

A preliminary draft of a revised 2009-10 fiscal year budget for the city of Richmond unveiled Monday shows a decrease in revenue of $1,538,223 and an expense increase of $1,124,596.

The working budget shows an estimated $2.6 million deficit for the fiscal year, it was announced at the special-called budget work session.

The estimated revenue for the original 2009-10 fiscal year budget was $25,441,180, and the revised estimated revenue, according to the draft, is $23,902,957.

The estimated expenses for the original budget also was $25,441,180, which reflected a balanced budget, but the revised draft shows expenses that are rounded up.

This is so the city has a better chance of having a nice surprise at the end of the fiscal year, rather than finding that the estimated expenses were more than planned, said interim city manager Jimmy Howard.

Expenses reported in the revised budget total $26,565,776. When that number is subtracted by the new estimated revenue of $23,902,957, it shows the city will have a budget deficit of $2,662,819 at the end of the 2009-10 fiscal year.

Howard publicly apologized for not having the city’s revised budget ready by the previously announced date of Oct. 27.

“I had said that we will have a budget to vote on tomorrow (Tuesday), and we will not,” Howard said. “I simply underestimated the amount of time it has taken to complete this document.”

Howard reminded Monday’s audience that the budget revision process remained a work in progress, but that he and Richmond Finance Director Mike Broyles believed the revenue side was complete.

“That does not mean that we won’t continue to try and find additional revenue,” Howard said. “We will do that as time goes.”

Broyles made a PowerPoint presentation Monday to explain the revisions made to the original budget.

Copies of Broyles’ presentation, which outlines the newly estimated revenue and expenses for each city department, can be obtained by calling City Hall at 623-1000.“Hopefully, we can present the budget for approval at the regular city commission meeting at 6 p.m. Nov. 10,” Howard said. “However, Mike and I are not going to send it for approval until we’re absolutely comfortable with all the numbers. We don’t want to rush into it.”

Howard said he met with city department heads earlier on Monday, and found that the police, fire, tourism and GIS departments were able to cut more than the requested 5 percent from their original budget.

He also announced that Mayor Connie Lawson also had “… stepped up to the plate,” and would not be taking any salary for the rest of the year.

Lawson said that it was a personal decision to give up her salary, and was something she did not wish to comment on any further.

Lawson’s annual salary is about $37,000 a year.

Commissioner Mike Brewer said employee layoffs still remains a last resort for saving the city money, but did not say it would never happen.

“I think we’re going to have to look at some of the employee situations that we have here to cut this budget and make it equal out,” Brewer said. “It’s going to be a very, very hard decision. I’m not going to tell you that we’re going to cut people and lay people off, but we’re going to have to look at that as a possibility. We can’t deny it, and we can’t ignore it any longer.”

Another special-called budget work session for the Richmond City Commission will be at 3 p.m. Nov. 5 in the conference room of city hall, located on the first floor.

The commission meets in its regular meeting today at noon.

Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 624-6608.

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