Minutes 05/11/1976 - Laserfiche WebLink

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3'50 pay schedule providing for a general wage increase to be effective on September 1, 1976. Due to the fact that many of our employees have been stymied in the low and middle ranges ef~ihe pa~scale, the annual merit step will provide the in-grade progression on an annual bgsih~tpa~ove toward top pay for that particular classification. Based on your. approval on first reading, the $1,075,000 in the Contingency Account will be spread to the appropriate department lines in the ordinance prior to the second reading on the ordinance. The total amount of appropriation of $50,887,32S will remain the same. However, the unallocated funds indicated on the ordinance will be allocated to the proper departments in order to get a true cost by departmental category. There are many programs and requests which, I feel, the City badly needs but due to the fiscal constraints have not been included in the recommended budget. Some of the items includ~ $350,000 for education, $57,500 for community education, $25,000 for the district maintenance system in recreation, full funding of the HIT Program, more inspectors for codes enforcement, ~nd additional policemen requested by the department. These are a few of the items' that, zn my opinion, are truly needs as far as the City of Portsmouth is concerned and services for which our citizens have indicated support. I ihink the word "austerity" has probably become synonymous with Portsmouth's operating budget but until some other funding sources become available or the City increases its tax base, maintaining the same level of services is all that can be recommended. The estimated increase in local revenue for 1976-77 was approximately $1.6 million. With the large increase in the employee benefit category of approximately $560,000 and the City's increase in local share for education, we are left with only the unappropriated surplus for funding operating expenditure increases. This recommended budget does include $890,000 of revenue sharing funds to be used for the fiscal year 1976-77. The City Manager recommends adoption on first reading." The following letter received from the.Municipal Finance Commission: "At a meeting of the Municipal Finance Commission held on Manday, April 19, 1976, the Commission conducted a detailed review of a rough draft of the 1976-77 operating budget as prepared by the City. Manager. After lengthy discussion and study, this Commission concluded its~ review and upon the unanimous vote of all members p~esent, the MuniCipal Finance Commissi)n acted to recommend to the Portsmouth City Council adoption of the 1976-77 operating budget as drafted by the City Manager. Some of the areas considered by the Commission in its ~v~ew of the operating.budget are discussed below. The School Board's proposed budget totalled $25,557,073. The City Manager has recommend~ a reduction of that amount of $350,000, resulting in a total of $25,007,073. This level represents an increase of 6.6% over all for the school budget; and an increase of ~.6% in the local funding, excluding the State Sales Tax Returned to Localities (10.2% including it). The total increase in estimated local revenues for 1976-77 is ~1,641,033 over the previous year and 35.54% (1.e., $580,000) has been app6rtion~d to the school budget based on the City Manager's draft of the operating budget. The Municipal Finance Commission continues to be alarmed at the amount of local funding required for school operations. Several years ago the Commission determined tkat 35% of the total local revenues should be the maximum allocated to school operations, but year after yeau the portion of local revenues allocated to the schools continues to grow. Using the same definition of local revenues which was used previously [State Sales Tax Returned to Localities was considered as a local revenue at that time), 40.33% of the local revenues estimated for 1976-77 has been allocated to local funding of the school operations (37.91% last year). Taking full cognizance of the real and many funding needs of the Portsmouth Public Schools, it is the opinion of this Commission that the level of $23,007,073 is the maximum appropriate amount of local funding. The City Manager's budget draft includes the utilization again of $890,000 of General Revenue Sharing funds in the General Fund and $7S,000 in the City Garage Fund. While the Commission continues to recognize the objections to utilizing General Revenue Sharing funds in the operating budget, the only reasonable alternative to its utilization would appear to be a tax increase, which we consider even more objectionable at this time. The budget draft includes the utilization of unappropriated fund balances of $1,219,733 from the General Fund, $64,900 from the City Garage Fund, and $422.~00 from the Port Facilitie and Economic Development Fund. We find these recommendations of grave concern, but again, les objectionable than the only reasonable alternative of raising taxes. The implications regard- ing future budgets should be noted, however. The Commission concurs with the City Manager's recommendation to increase sewage service rates from 20 c~nts to 24 cents per hundred cubic feet and to raise sewage treatment rates from 38 cents to 45 cents per hundred cubic feet. These increases are necessary for the sewag operations to provide a 7% return on investment to the General Fund, which we continue to con- sider an appropriate objective of the utility system. The City Manager has proposed a wage increase for 'City employees of approximately 6%. Inview of the 1975 Consumers Price Index increase of 9.1% we consider this recommendation to be minimal. · r,=