No surprises yet as city plans budget

Posted 4/9/13

As the city enters budget deliberations, Mayor Scott Avedisian isn’t making any promises about holding the line on taxes, although, apart from predictable increases in pension and equipment lease …

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No surprises yet as city plans budget

Posted

As the city enters budget deliberations, Mayor Scott Avedisian isn’t making any promises about holding the line on taxes, although, apart from predictable increases in pension and equipment lease payments, there doesn’t appear to be a major cost driver.

“This looks to be more of the same,” Avedisian said Friday when asked to characterize the budget for the fiscal year starting July 1. He said the city would continue to seek ways to drive down expenses. The administration is in the process of reviewing department “wish lists” as it prepares its budget for the City Council next month.

But there are needs, in the area of equipment replacement, which the mayor feels can’t be put off. He said the flood of 2010, two hurricanes and the blizzard of this winter have taxed Department of Public Works equipment.

As city finance director Ernest Zmyslinski explained, the city is looking at about $2 million in new equipment. He said existing operating funds would be used to acquire the equipment and then the package would be bundled into a 5-year lease with annual payments of about $400,000. While he hasn’t worked out all the numbers, a reduction in long-term debt payments would help offset the lease payments.

Zmyslinski acknowledged that there will be an increase in the Fire Department salary account with the addition of two recruit classes. However, the department should experience a dramatic decline in overtime spending that has been consistently over budget by more than $1 million. Also, as the city received federal funding for many of the new employees, much of the added pay and benefit costs will be covered for the first couple of years.

In years past, School Department funding has played a key role in the tax rate. The administration has level funded schools at $118.6 million for the past two years and Avedisian said Friday that school leaders are looking to bring in a budget calling for level municipal funding again this year. The School Committee is scheduled to commence the review of department budget requests tonight and complete the process by tomorrow.

An element of the school budget to be determined is whether Gorton Junior High School will close this year, as recommended by the school facilities commission. Superintendent Richard D’Agostino said the budget under consideration would assume the school stays open, however, that could change when the School Committee takes the recommendation under review. Closing the school and having those students attend either Aldrich or Winman would save an estimated $1.1 million in operating expenses.

Citing how school enrollment is declining, Zmyslinski sees level funding schools as an increase.

“It’s really like having an increase,” he said.

The city is faced with some givens. Contract agreements with the unions call for no pay increases. Based on the recommendations of its actuaries, the city should increase payments to the Fire/Police 1 pension plan by about $600,000.

The question then becomes if growth in the tax base offsets increases and can hold the current tax rate, as Mayor Allan Fung is proposing to do in Cranston for a second year?

“I never make a promise that I can’t keep,” Avedisian said when asked if this would be a year with no tax hike.

He pointed out the issue of tax rate is complicated by the statistical revaluation as of Dec. 31, 2012 used as the basis for the new tax bill. As residential and commercial values are expected to decline, the tax rate would need to increase to raise the same revenue. Yet, as values don’t evenly change across the city – some neighborhoods hold up better than others – some taxpayers could see an increase in their tax bill while others see a decline.

In effect, Avedisian said, the city would be doing “two budgets at the same time.” For comparison purposes, the budget figures will be applied to last year’s valuations and then applied to the revaluation numbers.

Looking ahead, Zmyslinski pointed out that the School Department must factor in the debt retirement costs of bonding for fire code improvements, and the city, if the decision is to go ahead, must budget to fund the capital costs of converting the former Potowomut School to a fire station. The mayor is recommending approval of a $2 million bond for the station. He sees that being repaid when the city drops its $320,000-a-year contract with the East Greenwich Fire District.

Zmyslinski doesn’t imagine costs relating to a Potowomut fire station would impact the budget until the 2015 fiscal year.

“It’s always a challenge to balance the budget,” Zmyslinski concluded.

Comments

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  • davebarry109

    Zmyslinski and the mayor know full well that they will not see any savings in the fire department overtime budget. It has been a blow out for the last 30 years. I could write the story a year from now right now....'No savings from new recruit class last year...OT still skyhigh.'

    Tuesday, April 9, 2013 Report this

  • Unionthug

    Davebarry,

    There will in fact be big savings as there has been no overtime starting last month when the department went to 6 floaters (extras) per shift. Overtime from July - march 31st was very high due to the fact the city was extremely short. There are very few people expected to retire and the city will see a very low overtime budget.

    Tuesday, April 9, 2013 Report this

  • Reality

    Same old same old. The Mayor better not ask for a tax increase....over 85% of budget is for personnel costs...with no raises this year Avedisian can't justify a tax hike. Do your job for a change Avedisian.

    Tuesday, April 9, 2013 Report this

  • Unionthug

    It would seem to me that 85% of any city budget is mainly personnel. What other costs are there? Taxes are what pay for Personel. You seem shocked that 85% of budget is for that. You pay taxes for civil servants. Seems pretty basic.

    Tuesday, April 9, 2013 Report this

  • RobbieRoggie666

    Big surprise is that Forbes magazine is pummeling Raimondo's lack of investing knowledge and how she doesnt even understand basic concepts. In addition she is funneling money to her Wall Street cronies . .don;t believe it? google Forbes and Raimondo and read it yoruself. And NEsi from wpri is in herback pocket - Forbes skewers that dork.

    Reality = 85% of the City Budget goes to the School Department - you are barking up the worng tree; not surprised, your prose clearly screams simpleton- The Council only controls 15-20 cents on the tax dollar - you need to direct your efforts at the School Dept if you really want change.

    Tuesday, April 9, 2013 Report this

  • Unionthug

    Reality wants to pay no taxes but wants the best FD, PD, PWD, Teachers, etc... Just to fall from the sky. Good luck and again feel free to move if you think it's really that bad....

    Tuesday, April 9, 2013 Report this

  • Unionthug

    BTW Raimondo's little secret of funneling money to all her Wall Street friends will eventually come to light. Trust me she's not that bright.....

    Tuesday, April 9, 2013 Report this

  • Reality

    Hey Robbie.....obviously you don't know the facts.....city side of the budget consumes close to 50% of the budget.....and Steve D you have absolutely no credibility.

    Tuesday, April 9, 2013 Report this

  • Unionthug

    I don't care about credibility. My work stands for itself...

    Tuesday, April 9, 2013 Report this

  • Unionthug

    Reality, when you give your real name ill give you a speck of respect....

    Tuesday, April 9, 2013 Report this

  • RobbieRoggie666

    Reality; you are not accounting for debt service on school bonds fool -

    Wednesday, April 10, 2013 Report this

  • Reality

    Robbie....you lack of knowledge is incredible...unfunded healthcare on the city side is $200 million more than the school side.

    Wednesday, April 10, 2013 Report this

  • Bob_Cushman

    For the sake clarification of Robbie's comment, which is so far off base in his claim that 85% of the budget is allocated to schools, here are the facts on the pecent of budget revenue allocated to the city and school budget.

    Based on the 2013 fiscal budget, the amount of local tax dollars allocated to:

    City Budget is $97.7 million or 45.1% and School Budge is $118.6 million or 54.9%

    In 2007 local tax dollars allocated to City Budget was $63.9 million or 36.1% and School Budget was $113.1 million or 63.9%.

    THE BOTTOM LINE:

    * Since 2007 local tax dollars to support the Warwick school budget has increased only $5.5 million or 4.9 percent overall, while the city budget has increased by $33.7 million or 52.8 percent overall.

    * Continued property tax increases in the City of Warwick can be directly attribute to city spending, not schools.

    Thursday, April 11, 2013 Report this

  • erzmys

    How many students were there in 2007 and how many in 2012? Maybe 1,000 less? There should have been no increase in the school budget with the declinig enrollment.! And now the Superintendent is asking for an increase while not including any reductions for the closing of a middle school.

    Sunday, April 14, 2013 Report this