Budget Hearing March 27(tonight)

[David Lay]

Tonight's Meeting Docket:

http://ci.lakewood.oh.us/citygovern_cou ... endas.html

[Ruthie Koenigsmark]

Thanks, David, for posting tonight's agenda.

However, can anyone decifer this cryptic announcement-- folks are willing to take a stab at any of the six : ) I am guessing #1 and #2 has to do with approving the budget, correct and then I'm lost..............I would be helpful to have a summary in easy to understand terms about the discussion at hand............

Agenda as posted............

In accordance with Article III, Section 4. of the Second Amended Charter of the City of Lakewood, you are hereby notified that I am calling and there will be a Special Meeting of Council Monday, March 31, 2008 at 7:00 PM in the Auditorium of Lakewood City Hall to discuss the following items:

***OLD BUSINESS***

1. Finance Committee Report regarding 2008 Appropriations Ordinance (To be Provided)

2. ORDINANCE NO. 44-08 – AN ORDINANCE to take effect immediately provided it receives the affirmative vote of at least five (5) members elected to Council otherwise, it shall take effect and be in force after the earliest period allowed by law to establish appropriations for current expenses and other expenditures of the City of Lakewood, State of Ohio, for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2008. (PLEASE SUBSTITUTE FOR ORDINANCE 44-08 PLACED ON 1ST READING AND REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE 3/17/08)

***NEW BUSINESS***

3. Communication from Finance Director Pae regarding $3,550,000 2007 Various Purpose General Obligation Bond Anticipation Notes

4. ORDINANCE NO. 45-08 - AN ORDINANCE to take effect immediately provided it receives the affirmative vote of at least five (5) members elected to Council otherwise, it shall take effect and be in force after the earliest period allowed by law, authorizing the City of Lakewood to participate in a street resurfacing program for the resurfacing of Clifton Boulevard in the City of Lakewood with the Ohio Department of Transportation.

5. ORDINANCE 46-08 - AN ORDINANCE to take effect immediately provided it received the affirmative vote of at least five (5) members elected to Council, otherwise, it shall take effect and be in force after the earliest period allowed by law, to provide for the issuance and sale of notes of the City in a maximum principal amount of $2,550,000, in anticipation of the issuance of bonds, for the purpose of retiring certain motorized equipment notes of the City, and declaring an emergency

6. ORDINANCE 47-08- AN ORDINANCE to take effect immediately provided it received the affirmative vote of at least five (5) members elected to Council, otherwise, it shall take effect and be in force after the earliest period allowed by law, to provide for the issuance and sale of notes of the City in a maximum principal amount of $1,000,000, in anticipation of the issuance of bonds, for the purpose of retiring certain computer equipment notes of the City, and declaring an emergency.

[Bill Call]

Bill, what would the numbers look like if you add in an inevitable income tax increase....say .5%?

Assuming that the 33% income tax increase was proposed in January of 2007 and passed in May of 2007 and took affect in January of 2008 the general fund deficits would have been:

2008 $4.1
2009 $9.8
2010 $16.3
2011 $24.6
2012 $34.9
2013 $47.3

Those look like the same numbers you posted above which do not include an income tax increase of .5%.

The deficit numbers above DO INCLUDE the affect of a 33% income tax increase.

[Stan Austin]

Ruth---- Item #1 is a report of last Thursday's meeting. Item #2 is the final vote or third reading on the budget which is the topic of the report on item #1.

In effect, it will be a ratification of what transpired Thursday night.

The subsequent items, new business, are continuations of expenditure proposals that started at the beginning of the year such as Lakewood's contribution to the cost of repaving Clifton Blvd., and routine votes on changing notes (temporary, less than 3 years, financing) into longer term bonds, and also routine purchase of equipment which was initiated under the temporary, 1st quarter, budget.

Stan Austin

[Ruthie Koenigsmark]

So, much easier to understand , Stan!

I will talk to my councilperson, Tom B. to ask that these postings have a touch more clarity...

until then, could you help us out by clarifying--you just can't imagine how helpful this is!

R

[Will Brown]

Its certainly clear that its not clear what services will be cut, but I think the purpose of participatory meetings is to float ideas, not to make final decisions.

One problem with such meetings is that a relatively small number of (often) uninformed and (always) unelected people feels entitled to make decisions (or at least participate in the making) that should be made by our elected representatives in an atmosphere of calm consideration, rather than a circus.

Our government is set up so that we elect representatives, and they make the decisions. If we don't trust their decisionmaking, we elect someone else. Altering our council decisionmaking process so that the agenda is even simpler than it already is, and taking hours to let anyone who shows up speak at length is not an efficient use of the time of our elected officials, and I wonder what kind of talent will run for election if council sessions become more lengthy and more frequent. Are we ready to elect and pay for full-time councilpeople? Note that some places have participatory democracy, where the populace votes on everything, but we don't have that here. If we did, why would we even need a council (there's a money-saving idea for you)? I think that wouldn't work in a city as large as Lakewood, with a population so uninformed and disinterested.

Anyway, I hope our politicians have the guts to do something more than across-the-board cuts. Such cuts are usually a sign of weak management, that is unable to prioritize.

Everyone seems to feel that cutting senior services is cruel, but I have read that, as a group, senior citizens have more discretionary income than other groups. Certainly there are some needy seniors, but there are also many whose mortgage is paid, who pay few taxes, who have abundant retirement and investment income, who get discounts on everything, even RTA, restaurants, movies, and stores. These people don't need free transportation from the city, especially when the cost is cutting more valuable services. My personal feeling is that private charities are in a better position to help needy seniors, as they can ascertain whether there is real need. Government assistance, by way of contrast, is usually given with little regard to true need.

As to the projected deficits, those are little more than guesses. Those of us who handle our own finances have it easy, because we usually have a pretty good idea of what our income will be, and can adjust our expenses accordingly (sub-prime borrowers excepted). The city, by contrast, has only a guess as to how much tax income they will have. Who has any idea how much income tax the city will receive, especially with our national politicians doing all they can to aggravate a recession into a full-blown depression? Who can say what property tax income will be with property values falling, and property owners lining up to get a reduced tax appraisal.

[stephen davis]

April 1st City of Lakewood Balanced Budget Update

** High Priority **

Hello,

These e-mails are updates of the concurrent initiatives to create a
structurally sound budget for 2008, and to create financial strength and
flexibility for 2009 and beyond as prescribed by Joint Resolution
#8167-07.
_____________________________________________________________

Yesterday evening on March 31st at a special meeting, City Council
unanimously passed the 2008 Permanent Appropriations Ordinance with General
Fund expenditures in an amount not to exceed $36,701,549, and a total
appropriations amount of all funds in an amount of $98,099,076.

It is important to note that this is the first structurally balanced
budget, in which projected General Fund revenues exceed expenditures,
passed by Council since 1992.

Attached is the Committee of the Whole Report by Council President
Michael Dever, and the Budget Ordinance that was passed last night.
_____________________________________________________________

Sincerely,
~ Jenn
Jennifer R. Pae
Director of Finance
City of Lakewood
(216) 529-6092
http://www.onelakewood.com/finance.html

Somehow, I'm on this e-mail list. Ms. Pae is very good at getting information out.

Obviously, this council, and mayor's administration, have been very busy. They deserve a lot of credit for tackling this budget so comprehensively. I bolded the one line above that seems pretty significant.

As long as the "April 1st" in the headline was was not meant to fool, I am encouraged.


.

[Jennifer Pae]

If you would like to be included on the Balanced Budget Update E-mails that Stephen posted, please let me know by e-mailing me at:
jennifer.pae@lakewoodoh.net

[John Guscott]

Steve - I agree - I just rcvd my latest version today and am impressed with the content.

Any Lakewood resident interested in how the city govt works would appreciate these updates.

Thank you to Jennifer Pae for providing them!

[Jim O'Bryan]

Thank you to Jennifer Pae for providing them!

A true asset to this community and lives here too!


Thanks Jenn.



.

[Stan Austin]

Why all of a sudden the benchmark of 1992? Where did that come from?

[Jennifer Pae]

Good question Stan.

I went back and researched the budgeted revenues and expenditures that were passed by Council, and 2008 is the first structurally balanced General Fund budget since 1992. From 1993 - 2007, budgets passed by Council used some amount of unencumbered year-end funds to balance that year's budget as part of the revenue needed to cover appropriated expenditures.

Up until 2000, actual year-end revenue amounts exceeded actual expenditure amounts, which contributed to the growth the General Fund balance.

However, from 2001 until 2007, year-end expenditures were higher than actual year-end revenues, with the exception of 2002 and 2006. This has lead to the reduction in the General Fund Balance from a high of over $6 million in 2002 to the less than $350,000 in 2007.

For Council to pass a structurally balanced budget is different than achieving year-end structural balance. However, by passing a structurally balanced budget it is very likely the City will achieve year-end structural balance in 2008.

Hope that explains things a little better . . .

[David Lay]

I posted the PDFs of the 2008 Budget for anyone who wants to download them:

http://tinyurl.com/2rj3vd

[Jay Foran]

One of the things that makes Lakewood great is the degree of our citizens civic involvement and their willingness to add value when and where needed.

While Mayor Fitzgerald, the City of Lakewood administration and City Council did the heavy lifting to make this structurally balanced budget a thing of reality and rightly should be commended. It is also important to recognize a number of Lakewood citizens that comprised the Structural Balance Task Force that met almost weekly over a 15 month period and contributed significantly to lightening the load.

These individuals brought their professional management and financial expertise to the community table. They worked hard to understand the unique aspects of municipal finance, dove in to the financial history and current details and met with a variety of department heads. In the end, they helped construct a pathway for future discussion and outlined areas that deserved special consideration and/or a deeper review.

While the work was completed for hours after their day job ended, these folks toiled on our community's behalf. They each deserve the recognition and appreciation of our community.

The Structural Balance Task Force members included:

Mike Summers (leader)
Rick Beisel
John Brennan
Ray Cushing
Denis Dunn
Ken Haber
Dave Huffman
Joe Stewart

Bob Seelie and Ed Favre were very valuable contributing members.

Thanks!

[Dee Krupp]

Is there any money in the budget to fix the streets? They're horrible! I'm about to get swallowed by the many craters in the streets.