Budget Committee reviews proposed city expenses for next fiscal year

The Jefferson City Budget Committee reviewed its budget expenses for next fiscal year during its Thursday meeting.

The overall proposed mayor-approved budget for the 2020 fiscal year - which starts Nov. 1 - is $65,147,788, which is 0.8 percent less than the FY2019 adopted budget, Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin said. The general fund budget for the FY2020 is more than $32.9 million.

The mayor-approved FY2020 budget contains more than $32.9 million in expenses from the general fund balance, Jefferson City Finance Director Margie Mueller said.

The Jefferson City Police Department has the largest amount of expenditures with a little more than $10.2 million, or 31 percent of the proposed FY2020 general fund budget, Mueller said. The proposed animal control budget is $670,115.

The Jefferson City Fire Department has slightly more than $7.8 million in proposed expenses, or nearly 24 percent of the general fund budget expenditures, Mueller said.

The Jefferson City Planning and Protective Services Department has a proposed budget of nearly $2.2 million, and the Jefferson City Public Works Department has a proposed budget of slightly more than $6 million, Mueller said.

The Information Technology Services Department's proposed budget is slightly more than $1 million, she said.

The proposed mayor and Jefferson City Council expense budget is $117,355, Mueller said. The proposed City Clerk Department expense budget is $95,328, and the proposed City Administrator Department budget is $286,672.

The City Counselor Department has a budget of $321,678 and the municipal court has a budget of $260,611, Mueller said. The Human Resources Department has projected expenses of $318,248, and the Finance Department expects to spend $954,902 in the proposed FY2020 mayor-approved budget.

The proposed non-departmental expenses within the general fund are $947,208, and the entitlement grant general fund expenses are projected at $218,215, Mueller said. The proposed capital projects budget is $71,600.

The proposed transfers and subsidies expenses within the general fund is more than $1.4 million, she said.

The overall $65.1 million budget also includes $13.3 million in expenses from the wastewater fund, $8.7 million in expenses from the parks fund and more than $2.5 million in expenses from the transit fund. The Capital Improvement Sales Tax G fund has nearly $4.6 million in expenses, and the lodging tax fund has slightly over $1.2 million, she added.

The airport fund has $493,116 in expenses, the parking fund has $905,308 in expenses, and the workers' compensation fund has $493,883 in expenses, Mueller said. The JC Veteran's Plaza Trust has $2,000 in expenses, the Woodland Cemetery fund has $9,700 in expenses, and police training fund has $30,000 in expenses.

The TIF fund also has $30,000 in expenses, Mueller said.

The mayor-approved budget includes a 2-percent salary adjustment for full-time and part-time employees with benefits. The increase is estimated to cost $543,285 across all funds, Tergin said.

Of the more than 130 pink sheets, 12 were funded in the mayor-approved budget. Pink sheets are funding requests from city departments.

Pink sheets approved include two 3/4-ton pickup crew cabs, a replacement jetter truck, a replacement plant maintenance truck, a replacement pump station, electric basketball goal height adjusters and campground reservation software.

Aging equipment and vehicles, as well as aged or deferred building maintenance, are some of Tergin's top concerns for the upcoming fiscal year. The city anticipates a funding gap of more than $1 million for vehicles and equipment and $300,000 for buildings, according to Tergin's letter to the Budget Committee.

On Monday, the committee approved the proposed revenue amount for FY2020 general fund - $32,906,901, an increase of 0.3 percent, in revenue compared to the FY2019 adopted budget.

More than $23.1 million from sales tax makes up more than 35.5 percent of the total fund revenues. Nearly $20 million from fees and charges make up nearly 30.6 percent of the total fund revenues. Revenue also comes from property taxes, carry-over surplus, intergovernmental fees, and franchise and utility taxes.

For the general fund, sales tax brings in nearly 38 percent, or almost $12.5 million, in revenue. Franchise and utility taxes make up almost 22 percent of the general fund revenue at slightly more than $7.2 million.

Actual revenues for FY2019, as of the June 30, 2019, reporting period, is about $34,000 under FY2019 budgeted revenue figures, according to Tergin's letter.

The FY2020 general fund total revenue projections are 1.78 percent under the actual FY2018 budget because the FY2018 actual total revenues included $174,017 in grant revenue for various projects, according to Tergin's letter.

Because of the city's revenue restraints, city administration asked department directors to identify decreases within their operation budget, Tergin said.

"These reductions are operational in nature and should not materially impact service provisions," according to the letter. "However, it is important to note that this will necessitate adjustments throughout the year from estimated cost savings or 'unexpended' line items and will impact the typical amount of funding contribution to the year-end reserves."

The unreserved general fund balance for the FY2020 budget is projected at 17.11 percent, Tergin said. The city's financial policies require the unreserved general fund balance to be at least 17 percent of expenditures.

Tergin said city staff is still uncertain how the May 22 tornado and recent flooding will impact the unreserved general fund balance.

While the FY19 budget will reflect disaster response costs, Tergin said, there will be ongoing disaster recovery costs that are currently not funded in the FY20 mayor-approved budget that will impact the general fund balance. This includes costs for city demolition, building permits, plan review activities and flood recovery at the Jefferson City Memorial Airport.

"I think it's very smart to be aware that there are things that will come at us here in the future knowing the challenges that we face during the recovery process, which will be a long one," Tergin said. "I also feel very confident because we are being cautious and we are being aware of what some of those challenges could be."