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Advice to new council: Default budget position should be ‘No’ Congratulations to Mr. Haddix, Ms. Learnard, Mr. Imker and Ms. Fleisch, and we wish you well. Please remember after the warm glow of election victory subsides, you have a derailed train to put back on the tracks. That train needs your immediate attention. In as much as action needs to be taken, it is extremely important to not overreact, causing long-term damage. Selling city assets to close short-term budget deficits is an example of overreacting. Many municipalities and corporations are taking the “hold on” stance, meaning they hope to hold on long enough to wait out the recession. Waiting for things to get back to normal in our current economy and postponing important decisions means the hole will be even deeper in the future. We need to choose accelerated innovation over survival mode. I remember my first year in elected office and being told countless times, “That’s the way we’ve always done it.” Government left unto itself will bog down in the bureaucratic sludge. I have spent the last four years wincing at the ham-fisted decisions made on budgeting, personnel and priorities. The City Council recently accepted a $650,280 federal grant for six new firefighters. Unfortunately, those firefighters were not budgeted, and when the five years of partial grant payments are over, we will be saddled with some extensive annual debt. The time to start planning to cover that salary balance is not four and half years from now; do it right away. It was financing deals like the federal grant that caused me to say there was no overage in the reserve funds. Those funds are already spent down the road, so start amassing funds in the reserves instead of whittling them away. The decisions of the last four years come with an annual price tag. All kinds of people are going to ask our new council members to spend tax dollars on all kinds of projects. The default answer from council should be “no.” On the contrary, the council should be asking every program associated with the city, “How can you produce more revenue to ease the burden on the city’s general fund?” Hacking away at city services and recreation programs with a blunt axe is the wrong thing to do. Instead, figure out new ways to get those services to pay for themselves. As a mayor or council member, what are your top three budgeting priorities and, just as important, what are your top three budgeting priorities within each city department? To answer those questions honestly, you will have to dig, asking questions, challenging old assumptions. Do not take the city manager’s word for it; get up to your ears in research. Some will accuse you of micro-managing the city, and that is ridiculous. Remember, if you do not know the inner workings and essential parts, then you are not qualified to pick up a scalpel and begin operating. Do not hack away at a budget if you do not know where the cash is flowing. If you want to severely mutilate or kill the patient, start operating out of total ignorance. The buck does not stop with the department director; it stops with the City Council. Former Councilman Steve Rapson and I used to meet and shred through the budgets every year. We went after the abuse and set strict priorities, later presenting the city’s first AAA bond rating and the best fund balances. I can assure you we made quite a few people angry. As you dig, identify city spending habits or patterns that can be changed to some degree without compromising the level of service. Demand accurate revenue projections based on the latest research and trends, aiming to collect 90 percent of that figure. Track those numbers diligently. Make adjustments as needed. Track each department’s spending monthly and capture savings immediately to the reserve fund. Create a reward system for the most savings annually by a department. Analyze how they saved the funds and see if it can be replicated in other departments. Avoid creating new expenditures. I was totally floored when the city began hacking away at recreational services and personnel only to put a brand new ice skating rink and fitness center on a referendum. Remember, say “no” and watch your fund balances increase. Have some written finance goals and stick to them. The mindset should be how to take advantage of the current economy and come out of the recession a stronger city. Beware of rezoning and development decisions that increase the cost of providing services down the road. The big box development on Ga. Highway 54 West and the additional traffic signal exempted from the city ordinance will cost a significant sum in road modifications and public safety later on, not to mention the impact on our quality of life concerning traffic. Stay away from the quick fixes. Special Purpose Local Option Sales Taxes (SPLOST) got the city into a lot of trouble. Tens of millions of dollars are wasted in SPLOST proceeds, exemplified by the $51 million West Fayetteville Bypass boondoggle. In fact, all of the Fayette municipalities should be demanding that the bogus bypass be halted and the funds used to ease the financial burden of the local governments. It is very difficult for the taxpayers to watch the county government and the Board of Education literally waste over $100 million out of our pockets and feel any kind of empathy for local governments experiencing a downturn in revenue. Put an end to the waste and regain the public trust. Expect the special interest lobby to scorn you. Intimidation and exclusion is their tried and true method of getting officials to do government their way. That is how the Chamber of Commerce got the West Fayetteville Bypass and tried to get the TDK Extension. Finally, try to take of advantage of local expertise. Form citizen committees, including people who disagree with you, to review departmental spending and have them offer suggestions to the mayor and council. [Steve Brown is the former mayor of Peachtree City. He can be reached at stevebrownptc@ureach.com.] login to post comments | Steve Brown's blog
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