Carson City manager sets sights on three budget cutting scenarios for 2010
With sales and property taxes in continued decline, Carson City Manager Larry Werner has drawn up three 2010-11 budget scenarios and has asked department heads to trim their budgets according to each plan.
Though 2009's $55 million general fund budget was about $6 million off target, the difference was made up through creative cuts and there were no layoffs or furloughs. Now looking ahead, Werner is taking aim at three budget cutting scenarios, chopping $3 million, $4 million and $6 million, respectively from city services and programs in anticipation of lost revenues for the next fiscal year.
Layoffs could fall under each plan, though Werner wasn't sure how many layoffs for each scenario. The idea is to not lay off anyone, he said, though it hasn't been ruled out. Furloughs have also not been ruled out.
"We think, undoubtedly, there will be a reduction in salary costs. If there is a major reduction, layoffs and furloughs haven't been identified yet," Werner said on Thursday. On Friday, he reiterated, saying "We are a ways out on this."
Carson City has about 600 employees.
If lay offs are projected in the budget scenarios, Werner said each of the city's six unions would be brought to the table for discussion. There are two fire department bargaining units, three sheriff's office units, and one general government union.
Because department heads are drawing up the budget scenarios, the city isn't firm yet on what concessions would be asked for by the unions, if any, Werner said.
"The idea is we take a look at service levels, and in the process of analyzing them find out what the programs would be, what the impacts to the community would be," Werner said. "On the flip side I've asked department heads to develop plans on what we should restore and what the priority order would be if we have been way too conservative."
With about 42 percent of its work base being government jobs, Carson City is feeling the pinch of state layoffs, furloughs and salary cuts. And the cutting from the state is far from over.
Gov. Jim Gibbons said earlier this week that he's looking at making cuts from 1.4 to 10 percent to the state budget to make up for the state's revenue shortfall.
"If there is a reduction in salaries to state workers, we feel the loss of discretionary spending in Carson City," Werner said. "The state translates revenue for us and when people aren't spending money, we feel it."
The city on Thursday released its business plan update on its Web site, www.carson-city.nv.us/?page=19&recordid=304&returnURL=%2findex.aspx
The plan contains objectives grouped into sections that represent quality of life measures in Carson City. The plan includes the City Operations Scorecard for December. The scorecard compares actual revenues and expenditures against targets developed from previous years. Updated taxable sales data is included in the report.
Sales and property taxes are off about $6 million from where the were in 2006, the report shows. The report shows large drops in automotive, service and retail sales, while food and beverage sales within the city have remained flat.
Entertainment and recreation represents a large part of the city's sales tax budget, Werner said, and those, so far, have been stable.
— Jeff Munson is a volunteer contributor to Carson Now. He can be reached at jefftmunson@gmail.com
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