As Jefferson City prepares to start a new fiscal year Nov. 1, some officials are closely watching the city's revenues, which have largely remained flat in the last few years.
A majority of council members, and Mayor Eric Struemph, agree the city needs to find a way to increase revenue, but the difficult question is how.
When looking to increase revenues, cities don't have too many methods outside of raising taxes or increasing fines, charges or fees. But in the current economic climate, many officials said raising taxes would not be an option.
"Tax increases right now are a political suicide," said 1st Ward Councilman Jim Branch. "(Voters) are not going to vote for a tax increase."
Instead, Struemph said the way to raise revenue is by creating an environment that attracts more businesses and people to the area. If the city can accomplish that, then revenues would grow as a byproduct.
"I think our sales tax and property tax will be fine as we move forward, if we're making the right decisions to make this a good business environment," Struemph said. "I've heard more outside companies wanting to come to Jefferson City than I've heard in a long time. ... Our sales tax revenues will grow as our businesses grow."
Several council members agreed, saying as long as the city stays competitive in attracting both businesses and tourists, needed revenue growth will come.
Branch said that thinking is why he supported a tax increment financing district at Capital Mall. He said if that property can be revitalized, the city will see increased growth. It's the same reasoning behind trying to solve the city's abandoned buildings issue, he said, which would generate more property taxes if they were occupied.
"That's how we need to do this," Branch said. "We need to grow the base."
Second Ward Councilwoman Laura Ward also said addressing abandoned buildings would help increase property tax revenues for the city, as well as help keep the city beautiful and a desirable tourist destination.
"We need to think more outside of the box," Ward said.
First Ward Councilman Rick Prather said the city always needs to look at increasing revenues without burdening citizens. Attracting people and businesses will help increase sales within the city and generate additional sales tax revenue, he said.
And if the city were able to see the addition of a facility that attracts more people, such as a sports complex or conference center, that would result in increased revenue, Prather said.
Third Ward Councilman Bob Scrivner said the city needs to either reduce services or increase revenues, and he would prefer to see revenue growth. Scrivner said one way to do that is through increasing tourism in the area and offering incentives to ensure further business growth in the community.
"I would hope that the way we would increase revenues would be through growth," Scrivner said. "So far, we haven't been as successful at that as we would like to be."
Third Ward Councilman Ken Hussey agreed, saying the way to grow is to improve the economy by working with community partners.
"If we have more jobs, more people, more shopping opportunities, it's going to increase sales tax revenue," Hussey said.
Another aspect is finding the level of service desired by the community, he said. If the city has not met that desire and whatever is requested is not feasible within an existing budget, Hussey said the residents would have to decide if they want to pay extra to have that service.
"That's a long-term process," Hussey said.
But not every member of the council believes revenues need to be increased.
Fifth Ward Councilman Ralph Bray said he still wants to look at existing areas of the city's budget for any savings that can be found before having any council discussion on increasing revenues.
"I just don't want to entertain new revenue because I want to keep my focus on making sure we're as efficient as possible with the revenues that we have," Bray said. "I can't tell you that we're there yet."
Second Ward Councilman J. Rick Mihalevich said he believes the city needs to make its expenses work within the revenues received.
"If we can reduce some services in an effort to balance the budget in the future, then I think we should go in that direction," Mihalevich said.
If, however, residents request new programs or services, Mihalevich said the city would then need to look at how revenues could be increased to pay for new or expanded services.
Fourth Ward Councilman Glen Costales said although there has not been revenue growth, he would prefer to see further cuts to city expenditures rather than focus on ways to increase revenue.
"There's not a lot of ways to make city revenues grow," Costales said. "So I would look at it from the complete opposite side ... How do we cut expenditures?"
Costales said the city has not cut all that can be cut in the last few years and there are places left that can see cuts, such as in postage expenses or other smaller line items that add up.
"The taxpayers don't have any more money to give us," Costales said. "We may just have to tighten even tighter."
Fourth Ward Councilman Carlos Graham agreed, saying in tight budgets, the city needs to look at what it can afford to lose. One example he said was the tuition reimbursement program. Although he said he's "1,000 percent in favor of education," the program is one that's expendable right now.
But Graham also said the city needs to work more aggressively with the Jefferson City Area Chamber of Commerce to attract and retain businesses.
Costales also would like to see a conversation about whether to repeal the dedicated half-cent sales tax that funds the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department. Citing the 2010 citizen survey, Costales said many residents indicated that in tight budget times they would prefer to see services cut, and parks was the department most respondents said they would prefer to see cuts in.
When asked if repealing the department's funding mechanism would put more stress on the general fund, Costales said no. He said if the department began operating the city's golf course and ice arena at a profit instead of a loss, more revenue would come in. Costales said he hopes the council will begin having discussions on whether the parks tax needs to be repealed.
Fifth Ward Councilman Larry Henry did not respond to two calls for comment.