Budget Passes 12-1 Prioritizes public safety while paying off debt
The Minneapolis City Council passed the 2005 City budget 12-1 today largely unchanged from Mayor R.T. Rybak's August budget presentation. "I've spent much of the year finding ways to prevent layoffs in the Police Department without affecting the financial health of the City or cutting funding even deeper in other departments. I'm pleased that this budget accomplishes both objectives," Mayor Rybak said. The most significant change to the Mayor's original budget is Council Member Barb Johnson's amendment to increase funding for the Police Department by $500,000 annually, which will fund the equivalent of six police officers. Council Member Johnson and Mayor Rybak have been working together since the August budget presentation to find these dollars by planning to pay off City debt and reduce subsequent interest payments. "Our number-one job is to think creatively about how to increase police resources for our citizens," Council Member Barb Johnson said. Third-quarter budget projections indicate that frugal City departments will spend approximately $5 million less in '04 than their annual budgets allow. The City will pay off $5 million worth of debt, freeing up $500,000 annually for the Police Department. This should provide the level of funding necessary to eliminate only three positions in Police Department. The Johnson amendment passed on a 11-1 vote. Federal and state government has cut funding for 120 cops since 2001. The Mayor and Council were able to increase Police funding by employing a combination of budget savings, including actuarial savings in pensions, jail fee reductions, budget and military leave, sales tax funding for convention-related policing, CDBG allocations for problem properties, and a focused early retirement incentive. The adopted budget will increase the Police Department's budget by $2.8 million in '05. Over a 10-year period the Police Department's budget will increase approximately 15 percent, while all other departments except Police and Fire are increasing at eight percent over the same 10-year period. None of these increases come close to keeping up with inflation or the increasing cost of maintaining current service levels, such as skyrocketing health care costs. "My budget reflects a vision for the City. I am proud to have passed five budgets, each by a comfortable margin, in less than three years. Providing good services while restoring the City's financial health requires consistent leadership. This is why I am already working with departments on business plans that will be the backbone for the 2006 budget," Mayor Rybak said. The budget passed today maintains the policies established in the five-year financial direction, a plan to pay off inherited debt, and deal with large funding cuts from the state. The only major deviation from the five-year financial direction is increased funding for the Police Department. Elements of the five-year plan include paying off debt, capping levy increases, capping wage increases at two percent and holding the line on fee increases. This budget stays within the City's adopted tax policy that caps the City's share of property taxes increases at eight percent. This translates to about a two percent increase in the City's share of property tax for the average homeowner. Three-quarters of this increase goes just to pay off past debt, while 25 percent pays for the increased cost of maintaining services. "This budget reflects the priorities of this Council and Mayor - keeping police funding as our top priority," Council President Paul Ostrow said. The 2005 City budget totals $1.24 billion. Twenty-eight percent of that total ($330 million) is discretionary revenue, supported by the property tax and state-funded Local Government Aid. This is the fifth budget the Mayor and Council have adopted in three years. A complete copy of the City budget will be available next month on the City's website at www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us <http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/> . R.T. Rybak REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
