City Hall's Very, Very, Very, Very, Very, VERY Early Look at Next Fiscal Year's Budget Gap

City Hall's Very, Very, Very, Very, Very, VERY Early Look at Next Fiscal Year's Budget Gap

By Robert Wilonsky Fri., Jan. 27 2012 at 6:45 PM

For those who forgot the phrase "Meet and Confer," you may want to reintroduce yourself to the city's agreement with Dallas Police Department and Dallas Fire-Rescue that saved the city $22 million during the "painful, painful, painful" dog days of 2010, when Mary Suhm had to gut $131 million from the budget. In the end, per docs just posted to the city's website, Meet and Confer saved the city around $26 million in recent years. But the bill's coming due next fiscal year -- to the tune of a possible $28.7 million due those who took their cuts to help a brother out.

That's but one expense the city manager and CFO Jeanne Chipperfield want to warn council about Wednesday, when, during just the second of many budget workshops to come, they'll walk them through the PowerPoint below that says, look, if y'all want to eliminate mandatory leave days, give the AT&T Performing Arts Center all of its money, restore funding to closed rec centers, bump the library materials budget, it's going to cost you. Around, oh, $50 to $60 million. And depending on how the tax rolls roll in come May and how much we pocket in sales taxes (a figure that's still on the rise) and how much surplus property the city can sell off and a whole bunch of other stuff, there could be a budget shortfall. Around, oh, $48.9 million to $87 million.

But this is early-days stuff -- seven months before Suhm even presents her proposed budget. Just keep in mind: "Forecasts are very preliminary and will change before FY 2012-13 budget is recommended on Aug 13." Still, look out below. BudgetWorkshop2FY201213PreliminaryOutlook_02012012

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Monkeybad

Mary, Mary why you buggin? great song.. isn't is time for a fresh perspective running the city? a leader looses effectiveness in a public organization around 5 years or so. anyone with me?

anonymous

Is there no end to the mismanagement in Dallas? Ft. Worth gave their employees a 3% pay increase last year, no increase in taxes and their downtown is booming. It seems to me like the focus of Ft. Worth government seems to be more centered on the city rather than somebody's company getting a city contract. Dallas can't seem to do anything right. They can'y even manage to get paint on the ground for bike lanes without paying exorbitant amounts of money. Who is benefitting from that? It most certainly isn't the taxpaying citizens of Dallas.

Meanwhile, the Omni Hotel beams "Don't Worry, Be Happy".

LaceyB

Wasn't Suhm just talking about crunches and getting to the core (of the city) with her Personal Trainer? http://blogs.dallasobserver.co...Sounds like someone's got plenty to "help a city out" in these ugly times.

Mister_Mean

Yet another budget shortfall (but I forgot according to the city “it’s not happening here” mantra that it keeps chanting over and over each year since the bubble burst) again. Makes me wonder if we really should be looking at more debt (bond proposals for 2012) until the economy (and not what the city council and staff thinks) recovers.