Bare-bones budget now cutting into muscle

By Barbara Brown
Staff at City Hall in North Branch already had been facing running the 9,000 person city on a bare budget.
When the staff and council worked out a budget for the 2003 fiscal year, the budget was cut down to the last bit that the city could manage to run efficiently, safely and still offer its services.
Now, the council is expected to approve a $771,555 transfer of money cut from line items to a contingency fund that would be used if the state takes away all local government aid for the coming year.
Each year, North Branch receives about $655,000 from the state to help keep the city running.
With the state in the middle of figuring out its own $4 billion deficit, cities probably will be asked to find their own money to run the government or suffer without.
ìThe budget the council passed was bare bones,î said City Administrator John Moosey.
ìNow weíre cutting into the muscle that makes the city work.î
During a Jan. 29 work session, the council discussed prioritized cuts ranging from $10 to $170,000 in various departments and line items.
Most of the proposed cuts would be in subscriptions, dues and fees for services that give the staff resources to help them keep up on laws, what other cities are doing and give them creative ways to solve every day problems that arise in the city.
Departments including buildings, public works, administration, custodial, police, city clerk, council, recreation, civil defense and engineering all were subject to finding money they could cut from their departments to save the city some money.
If the state should remove all local aid, the additional savings would be used to keep the city running for the coming year.
North Branch is in a better fiscal situation that many other cities throughout Minnesota, Moosey said, because the staff and council had been expecting some big state cuts.
He said the council wanted to jump on the problem early to avoid being caught off guard.
ìThe citizens of this town, the council, knows how to run this town better than someone who doesnít even know where North Branch is,î Moosey said.
However, 2004 may bring a greater challenge to the staff because the city would not have a $215,000 transfer from the liquor store profits to get the savings off to a good start.
The $215,000 booster is from an accumulation of savings from the past several years of liquor store profits.
If the city were forced to make the same or additional cuts in 2004, the staff may be hard-pressed to find other money to cover costs because it would only be able to transfer one yearís worth of liquor store profits ñ about $80,000.
Moosey said the cuts were prioritized for the councilís consideration.
Cuts that the staff would want to see made first would include city donations, contracted street sweeping, operating supplies, consultant services, newsletters, conferences and uniforms.
Hirings and increasing part-time employees to full-time already are frozen.
Most capital improvements projects also are frozen, but ones that are required for health and safety or because of federal or state regulations ñ improvements on the water and sewer system, for example ñ could be paid for with bonds that would be paid later.
The council also was presented cuts including improvements to the library, paying for street lights and stop lights.
More than $230,000 in cuts were requested last to be cut, including a $100,000 set-aside fund for a potential community center, gravel, crack sealing, dust control on streets, seal coating, overlay projects and sidewalk projects because those cuts most would act as a punishment to residents, Moosey said.
ìThese are things that if we took them away, the public would really notice, but the public also would suffer without them,î Moosey said. ìWe donít want to make those cuts unless we have to.î
The council is expected to approve the transfer of the line item amounts to a contingency fund at the Feb. 10 council meeting.
The council will discuss additional budget considerations and future plans further at a special work session 6 p.m. Feb. 13.
Also up for consideration is cutting city services. Moosey prepared a list of potential services that could be cut, and the savings and risks associated with them.
On the list were leaf pick-up, which could save $25,000 a year, but force more staff time to remove leaves from storm drains.
Also up for grabs could be seal coating projects for 2003, which could save $40,000 but force higher costs for road replacements in the future.
Another suggestion was increasing the cost of deck building permits and dog licenses and charging groups to put messages on the community sign.
Moosey said the businesses that the city contracts with also are being helpful and looking for ways to still offer their services, but cut costs to the city.
Some of those include city attorney Tom Miller, who is looking for a way to cut his annual bill of $25,000 by $5,000.
The Water and Light Commission may discuss forgiving city charges on a temporary basis, and Jay Kennedy, with the cityís engineering firm is expected to present a cost-savings plan to the council.

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