Preliminary Budget Shows City in Black

After last year’s $4-million city budget shortfall, which officials blamed on sinking property tax values and declining sales taxes, a preliminary report shows the budget back in the black this year.

Although no vital city services have been reduced because of a four-year budget crunch, City Manager Kevin J. Murphy said, the stabilizing of the city’s budget means residents won’t have to worry about seeing any other services, such as library hours, reduced again.

“In the next few years we still have to watch our costs until the economy is truly in a healthy state,” Murphy said.

The city’s position has improved because of a recovering economy, with city revenue exceeding forecasts, and an end of state and federal mandates that have drained city resources for the last five years.

The state’s shifting of property taxes from cities to schools, and federal laws such as the Americans With Disabilities Act, which require the retrofitting of buildings, had taken a toll on the city’s budget, Murphy said.

He attributed the modest growth in city revenue to privatization of some services, such as tree trimming, and downsizing and reorganizing of city operations.

In the last four years, the city has eliminated nearly 100 jobs through attrition and a reduction of managerial posts.