The recent recession has posed large problems for all levels of government, but it has been uniquely challenging to municipalities as we face shrinking revenues (including shared revenue from the state), while at the same time the state is mandating local governments to spend more and, yet, limiting the amount of revenue local government can raise through taxes.
In order to position ourselves above our competitors as the economy continues to rebound, we must continue to make investments in our infrastructure and our quality of life because those are the things that businesses put a premium on when expanding or relocating.
At the same time, we must also realize that our citizens have less disposable income in this economy and cannot necessarily afford even a modest tax increase.
This also requires that we continue to bond for multi-generational infrastructure projects, like streets and sewers, because they are projects that should be paid for by the multiple generations that use them. While making these investments, we must also continue Mayor Nickels’ commitment to pay off more debt than we issue; an easy goal if we’re committed to it.
This is why I:
- voted for non-service related budget cuts beyond the $100,000 the Mayor initially cut from the 2011 budget.
- proposed a balanced budget that used the approved budget cuts to give the citizens a 0% tax increase, while using “undesignated” reserve money (already collected from the taxpayers and not allocated for any project) to help us weather the storm instead of sliding backward. (Defeated 7-3)
- voted against new debt for certain parks projects that did not have immediate urgency.
- voted to remove $750,000 of new debt for new storm water ponds.
- voted to pay off more debt than we took on.
- voted against the 2011 budget that increased taxes while putting services at risk. (Adopted 7-3)
