Dave Eisenstadter reports from The Sentinel:
Keene officials’ proposed 2011-2012 budget calls for a 2.51 percent increase in taxes this year.
The proposal was released this morning.
City Manager John A. MacLean writes in an introduction to the document that this year’s budget represents one of the smallest increases in spending seen in a decade — less than 1 percent.
However, reduced revenues mean more money would have to be raised by taxes to meet the spending plan.
Since inflation has been unusually low over the last few years, this straightforward comparison of spending increases over the last decade could be misleading. The relatively small increase could be a response to low inflation rather than a real cut in city government growth.
I’m curious about the reduced revenues. Are they the result of the state government cutting payments to cities? Or are they the result of our recent recession, or demographic changes? Is that a 2.5% increase in tax revenues, or a 2.5% increase in property tax rates?
I’ll try to elaborate on these points after I have more information.
Changes proposed include reducing City Hall hours, freezing pay increases for all staff and reducing the number of city boards, commissions and committees, or making them responsible for more of their own minute-taking and other duties taken on by the shrinking city staff.
“By working together in this manner, employees will demonstrate their solidarity with the community we are proud to call home,” MacLean wrote.
The proposed general fund operating expenses are $32,694,776, a 0.64 percent increase from last year’s total of $32,488,381.
The largest spending increase was in the department of debt service — $728,464 — for a total of $4,846,344. That money will be used to pay principal and interest on existing bonds, which now include the $5 million bond for the new central fire station issued during the 2010-11 budget year.
Other major increases came in the police and fire budgets, with $401,377 and $153,195 increases, respectively, which will cover wage increases. But the city will ask unions that negotiated increases to put them off for future years.
The city budgeted for eliminating those wage increases, according to City Finance Director Martha M. Landry.
City Councilors will have to review the proposal and approve a budget before the end of June.
