City sets budget process; deadline for feedback is April 8

Budget workshops were held Monday and Tuesday, and a public input meeting is scheduled for 6:30–8 p.m. March 31 in council chambers, 830 Boonville Ave. Budget feedback also can be submitted by e-mail to city@springfieldmo.gov or by mail to City Manager’s Office, PO Box 8368, Springfield, MO, 65801.

Council members have agreed to submit their initial suggestions or questions about the budget by March 25. The deadline for the public and council to submit final feedback is April 8.

The city manager’s staff will review the input and report to council on which suggestions are legal and appropriate for discussion. The manager’s office must present a finished budget to council by May 1.

Preparations for the 2008-09 budget have intensified over the last several weeks, with reports of lower-than-expected 2007-08 city sales tax revenue and an urgency to make up a $5.2 million funding shortfall in the Police and Fire pension system. The city this year is contributing $7.3 million to the system, and the fund’s actuary recommends raising that to $12.5 million – a suggestion the city is taking seriously, as a new state law requires cities with under-funded pension plans to contribute the full actuarial recommendation at least once every five years or have state funds withheld.

Suggestions for making up the pension shortfall have run the gamut. At the Monday meeting, the Police/Fire Pension Board submitted a report that recommends council ask voters for a limited-time half-cent sales tax (download that report here); City Manager Bob Cumley reported on suggested budget cuts from city departments, many of which would eliminate 7 percent of the funding they receive from the city’s General Fund (download that report here); and Michael Zwiener, from actuary firm Milliman, reported on the pension fund’s history and reviewed other funding options (download that report here).

The public can follow the budget discussions at the City Connect Web site, www.springfieldmo.gov/cityconnect. All documents presented at the budget workshops, the current city budget and videos of the budget workshops will be posted there. The Monday workshop also can be seen on TV23 at 8:30 p.m. today, 3:30 p.m. Friday and 8:30 a.m. Saturday.