September 21, 2006

By Diane Chiddister

At the Sept. 18 meeting of Village Council, a discussion of proposed budget guidelines prompted concerns from community members about how Council is presenting to the community the 8.4 mills property tax levy, which will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot.

After a sometimes spirited discussion, Council unanimously approved a slightly reworded budget guideline resolution.

Council should not, when presenting the tax levy to the community, “play the game of pitting the mandated things against” non-mandated, human-oriented services such as the Gaunt Park pool, said Dimi Reber, who was objecting to a statement from Council President Jocelyn Hardman, who said, “If the levy doesn’t pass, the voters have said they don’t want” the non-mandated services.

That sort of language feels manipulative to some, according to Reber, who told Council members that “I feel the village will feel mistrustful of your motives” if villagers are told they have to vote for the levy if they value the non-mandated services. Reber made her comments after Hardman had said Council will next month present to the community two budget alternatives, one to be used if the levy passes and one if it doesn’t. The budget without levy passage would eliminate many non-mandated services, Hardman said, prompting Reber to suggest that Council present more non-levy budget choices, including ones in which all services are cut across the board. Reber also stated that while she has concerns about the levy presentation, she still supports the levy.

In the next month, Council will hold extra sessions to discuss the 2007 budget and the property tax levy that Council voted in August to put on the November ballot. The levy, which would raise about $1 million annually for five years, would address the budget deficit in the Village’s General Fund. In communications with Council, Village Manager Eric Swansen has repeatedly described the Village’s current budget situation as an “unprecedented financial crisis.”

In August, Swansen presented to Council several 2007 budget scenarios that described possible service cuts for different levy amounts. The scenarios identified non-mandated services, such as the library and Gaunt Park pool, as among the first services to be cut if the Village didn’t raise sufficient funds. The scenarios also showed increased spending for a new road maintenance program, prompting concern from some community members that Council was valuing road maintenance, which is a state-mandated service, over human services.

When Council approved the levy in August, Hardman stated that in response to community concern, levy revenues will be about equally divided between funding the new road maintenance program and funding non-mandated services.

But many in the community still feel wary of Council’s priorities, according to Stan Bernstein, who spoke Monday against two budget guidelines that used language that seemed to favor roads over human services.

“I will tell you that in my judgement, if you pass this you have condemned the levy for failure,” Bernstein said, adding that “People want gold-plated assurances” that the Village will not cut human services.

In one of the controversial budget guidelines, on infrastructure protection, the guideline stated that, “The water, sewer, electric, storm water, and transportation infrastructure of the Village constitutes the Village’s largest physical asset. Funding this ongoing need is a high priority, through effective maintenance and operation practices.”

That guideline seemed to slight human services by not specifically stating that they are also a priority, Council member Judith Hempfling said.

“We have these other assets that are also high priority in the community,” she said.

Council member Bruce Rickenbach stated that the purpose of the budget guidelines was only to give direction to Village staff in developing budget choices, and that Council will always have the option to make choices different than the ones staff suggests. But the budget guidelines, even if only to staff, seemed too rigid and directive, Reber said.

“The language doesn’t provoke thinking about” the budget choices, she said. “To me, that’s the hub of the problem.”

All Council members agreed with alternative wording suggested by Peggy

Erskine, which clearly identified non-mandated human services as priorities as well as mandated services. Alternative wording was also adopted for a second controversial budget guideline that stated that cutting services would be preferable to funding them at less-than optimal levels. Instead, the new wording requests that staff provide Council with information on how much funding would be necessary to provide adequate operation for a service, at which point Council would decide how to proceed.

In response to that discussion, Council member Bruce Rickenbach stated that he would not support cutting non-mandated services if the levy fails.

“Let me go on record that I will not support eliminating those things,” he said. “They’re an intrinsic part of our community and we have to maintain them at some level.”

The budget guidelines were prepared by Swansen, who said that they were necessary to help staff make fiscally responsible budget choices. Not having had such guidelines, he said, had led to the Village’s current financial problems. The 19 guidelines included operating with a balanced budget, allocating resources for preventative actions to delay future capital costs, maintaining quality services, funding enterprise funds entirely with user fees, using debt sparingly and maintaining fiscal reserves. The guidelines were largely “common sense” suggestions, according to Council member Karen Wintrow, and aside from the two revised guidelines, did not provoke discussion. Council members unanimously approved the budget guideline resolution.

In other Council business:

• Council set next Monday, Sept. 25, as its first 2007 budget discussion. The meeting will take place at the Bryan Center at 7 p.m. During that meeting, Council members will consider how to include community members in the budget discussion, an agenda item brought by Hempfling that was postponed at Monday night’s meeting. At that meeting, Council will also set dates for additional budget discussions.

• Council approved the second reading of an ordinance that moves a handicapped parking space from in front of Town Drug on Xenia Avenue to Glen Street beside that business.

• Council approved the first reading of supplemental appropriations to the 2006 Village budget.

• In his manager’s report, Swansen stated that the Village will pay $2,600 for overtime security during the Sunday, Sept. 10, additional Blues Fest musical event. It is not unusual for the Village to pay extra for special events, according to Swansen, who noted that the Village also staffs a heightened police force during the Fourth of July fireworks and during Street Fairs.

Contact: dchiddister@ysnews.com