City commission looks at stable mill levy

It's budget time and the first City of Fort Scott budget that Jon Garrison has worked on in about 25 years.

Garrison discussed the 2014 budget with the Fort Scott City Commission and City Manager Dave Martin during a work session Tuesday prior to the commission's regular public meeting. The group went through the city's budget document, including revenues and expenses, talked about assessed valuations decreasing, the mill levy, rising costs and other matters.

Garrison last worked with the city's budget when he served as director of finance from 1983 to 1988. He came back to Fort Scott in November 2012 as the director of finance after working in the same role in Pittsburg since 1988.

"This is hopefully one of many budgets I get to work on," Garrison said. "I've enjoyed it ... I was surprised with the number and magnitude of projects going on."

Garrison told commissioners during the work session the budget is a financial planning document - "an overall plan of action and symbol of the community's priorities and where citizens think money should be spent."

The commission approved publication of the 2014 budget and also set Aug. 6 as the date for a public hearing on the budget.

Next year's budget reflects the same mill levy as the 2013 budget - 48.883 mills. It also shows a slight decrease in assessed valuations and other changes in various expenditures.

"It's (budget) balanced with no mill levy increase," Garrison said. "It's what we're calling a 'status quo' budget. There's not a lot of money for new initiatives and projects."

Assessed valuations are down from $44,456,479 to $43,751,382, about 1.59 percent or a decrease of about $34,000. City officials could have raised the mill levy to make up for this decrease but chose to keep it flat.

Garrison said that actually less money will be levied next year than what was adopted in the 2013 budget.

With costs in some areas increasing, city leaders had to reduce expenses in other areas in order to balance the budget and keep the same mill levy, Garrison said.

"We're running about as efficiently as a city right now as we can," he said.

Martin said the new budget also includes some staffing changes, including not replacing the director of public works position and restructuring the public works department to save money on salaries, and transferring one full-time streets employee to the codes department.

"We're giving up salaries but not productivity," Martin said. "We want to move people around and cross-train and use them in different capacities."

Martin said he is pleased with departments trying to save money and cut expenses when possible while working with a tighter budget.

"I'm happy with not only Jon but all the staff and directors moving together as a team," he said, adding the budget will be tight but "we'll make it work."

Garrison said the published budget sets the maximum expenditures for each fund for the budget year. After the public hearing, the commission will consider adoption of the budget. Commissioners can conduct as many work sessions as they need, but the latest date they can meet to discuss the budget is Aug. 15.

There must be 10 days between the date of publication and the actual public hearing, Garrison said.

"We cannot have a published budget with expenses greater than," he said. "They (commissioners) can reduce it, they just can't increase it."

Several capital projects that are in the works include the Riverfront park, which will not require any city funds; improvements on National Avenue from Sixth to 13th Street; the widening of U.S. Highway 69 and improvements to that highway's intersections with 23rd Street and 18th Street and South National Ave.

When budgeted, the total costs for these projects is $7.6 million, with the city's portion totaling almost $2 million.

The city will contribute $1 million from the rate stabilization fund, $560,000 from the water utility fund and $204,319 from the storm water utility fund for the $3 million National project; and $220,200 from the rate stabilization fund toward the $866,200 project to widen portions of U.S. 69.

Garrison said he is confident these projects can be done without incurring bond issuance costs.

Concerning the city's debt, the city currently has about $20 million in total debt for street and sewer projects and other capital improvement projects but has not issued any new debt this year. Current debt is expected to be paid out between now and 2045. Money to pay debt comes from the debt service fund or from a transfer from other city funds, Garrison said.

The 2014 budget includes about a $5.8 million general fund, which is the city's primary operating fund.

Commissioner Sam Mason said during the work session he is "proud of staff keeping finances where they are and no mill levy increase in my five years on the board."

Garrison said Fort Scott is not just about the work of city commissioners and staff.

"It's all of us, working to make a better place to live," he said.

Other highlights of the 2014 budget, according to a city document, include:

* Cost of the city's contribution to the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) increased from 8.94 percent to 9.69 percent for an additional cost of $16,000.

* Cost of the city's contribution to the Kansas Police and Fire retirement system increased from 22.84 percent to 25.48 percent for an additional cost of $35,000.

* The city saved about $600 with the cost of unemployment insurance going down from .073 percent to .049 percent.

* Budgeted 2 percent raises for city employees at a cost of $64,000.

* Garrison said there is a unique situation in 2014 in which there will be 27 pay dates instead of 26, which will cost the city an additional $118,000. With the city budgeting for 27 pay periods, all city employees will receive an extra two weeks of pay.

* Following a new trend in government budgets, the general government budget was split into separate and distinct budgets: city commission, city manager, finance, city attorney, human resources, city clerk, and municipal court. Previously, all of these functions fell into one budget. Now each budget will have its own departmental objectives and performance measures, Garrison said.