Getting to the mayor's zero
While pleased that City Manager Ed Kitchen proposed only a one-cent tax increase, Mayor Keith Holliday said he'll push to get that increase to zero. In other words, keep the tax rate at 56.75 cents per $100 of assessed value.
Is it possible? Well anything's possible, including cutting taxes. Doing that means cutting expenses or entire programs, not always the easiest thing to do politically. Even Kitchen noted Tuesday that anytime it seems there is political support to cut something, the constituency that benefits from that spending rises up and convinces the council to back off. Witness the attempt in 2003 to cut arts funding.
But if Holliday pressed for a zero-cent increase, what would he have to do? Basically find $2 million somewhere in the $351 million budget. There are plenty of existing programs to cut, but it could be possible to find the money by not adding instead of subtracting.
The mayor, with the support of four other council members, could freeze the tax rate by taking away most of the additions Kitchen proposes. Here's a possible list:
Total: $2.49 million
That's even a little more than the $2 million needed, so the council could opt to staff one of the two fire stations or pick one of the two police items. Or the council could delve into the rest of the budget and decide to cut back on something they've funded before. Either way, it's not painless, but it's not impossible.
Comments (1)
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$150,000 might cover the cost of renovating (15) greens on the Players course at Bryan Park, but I have to wonder who would absorb the lost revenue from closing that course for six to ten months. That would cost more than the greens.
Posted on May 18, 2005 4:21 PM