2005 City Budget: Where's the Money?

Aug 31st, 2004

2005 City Budget: Where's the Money?

• More than $82-million or 49% of all budget expenditures are public safety related = 49 cents of every dollar. More than $41-million or 25 % goes to Public Services = 25 cents of every dollar.
• Total 74% or 74 cents of every dollar goes to CORE City Services.
  
• Of 2,400 city employees, 1,252 are Public Safety & 837 are Public Services.
  
• 263 employees are in finance and administration which supports the entire city— including payroll, technology, inspections, city council and more.
  
• In the Public Safety Budget--$11,500,000 or 14 % goes to the Police & Fire Pension Fund—a state mandated payment that supports 837 retirees. The RSA pension which supports the rest of the city's employees receives less than $1-million.
  
• _-billion dollars in capital projects on the waterfront and downtown are paid for with Federal & private investor money. The city aggressively pursues Federal dollars that would go to other cities.
  
• Growth in downtown & the waterfront is paying off in revenue that spreads throughout the city. An increase in tourism thanks to this growth means even more tax dollars left behind to be used for employee raises & increased city services.
  
• Tourism is growing. Mobile is becoming a true “destination city”. We will need expanded city services – therefore it is only logical to ask our visitors to help pay for those services in the form of an additional 2-cents per night on hotel rooms.
  
• For less than the cost of a glass of iced tea per day, our visitors can help provide a reserve fund for annual Merit raises, and stronger city services.
  
• Merit & Cost of Living raises and are programmed into the 2005 budget—without new sources of revenue, future Merit raises will be in jeopardy.
  
• Popular political philosophy to eliminate 1-cent from the sales tax – without another source of revenue -- would mean losing $27-million dollars. That would wipe out any chance for employee raises in the next decade; would be a prescription for laying off hundreds of employees in all areas of government; and would eliminate funding sources for many valuable city programs.
  
• Mandated costs: Police & Fire Pension, healthcare, jails, Strickland Youth Center, & Personnel Board have increased 182% in the last 16 years, while the general fund revenue grew at half that rate. These costs will continue.