Council tightens purse strings

'Saving dimes while we are losing dollars'

By NANCY KIMBALL/Daily Inter Lake

Go ahead and start with $99,900 in belt-tightening to rein in city spending, the Kalispell City Council told Interim City Manager Myrt Webb on Monday night.

But with the recession robbing the city of expected revenues in the coming year, more budget cuts certainly will be needed.

After riling up city employees and residents over a draft proposal that called for cutting three firefighters, two police officers, one dispatcher, one animal warden and the equivalent of 1 1/2 administrative workers elsewhere, Webb came back to the City Council Monday with a less severe alternative.

His midyear budget adjustments cut about $99,900 from spending, reducing the general fund to $10.6 million. It would leave $258,800 in year-end cash reserves instead of the original plan for $8,000, giving some wiggle room against unforeseen developments.

Webb's plan pares back maintenance and operations budgets for all city departments that draw their money from the general fund.

The Parks and Recreation Department took the biggest hit of just under $63,000. But other departments were cut back, too - $35,000 from the fire department, $15,000 from the police department, $24,500 from the planning office and $13,700 from public works.

The only general fund increases were $100,000 for the city manager's budget to pay former City Manager Jim Patrick's severance package and cover costs of recruiting a new manager, and an extra $16,590 for salaries in the city attorney's office.

Pointing up how little $99,900 would help the city's budget woes, council member Hank Olson asked how quickly the city would see the actual savings if it were to lay off five people.

Webb and Finance Director Amy Robertson said it would be a couple of months.

"We are saving dimes while we are losing dollars," Olson replied. "That money could be gone in a heartbeat. We're losing $1.5 million and we're changing the budget to get $258,000."

Olson advocated for cutting people but maintaining the programs and services with greater efficiency.

Mayor Pam Kennedy argued the opposite.

"As we take [programs] away from the families and the community, we're just adding work for our police" who deal with resulting unrest, Kennedy said. She lamented that the Parks Department is taking the biggest cuts, but added, "we've got to maintain police and fire at this level, for the safety of our officers and the safety of our citizens."

"We staff now at a minimum, we're just barely getting by," council member Duane Larson said. "Every day if an incident occurs and we [would] have any less manpower, there could be a disaster."

Council member Bob Hafferman lined up behind the move for cutting expenses in maintenance and operations.

"Fees seem to be causing the problem," Hafferman said. "We've got to go [further] into the mode of austerity because we're already in that with no fees coming in. We've got to learn to cut our expenses."

Council member Tim Kluesner called for further cuts as well as a Plan B. He questioned Robertson on covering vacation and comp time when employees leave, arguing for limiting the city's cash liability by limiting the amount of time they can accrue.

"Has the union come forward with an offer to help?" Kluesner asked Webb. It has not, Webb said. "We ought to be scared, just like Hank [Olson] said. But this resolution is better than doing nothing."

He suggested economies such as eliminating the council's $500 travel budget, adding, "Then you should reduce salaries. It's better than losing jobs or having layoffs."

Council member Jim Atkinson suggested other Plan B's - find ways increase revenue and to limit services.

"We need to act on all these Plan B's at once," Atkinson said. "We need a quick, short-term fix and a plan for a long-term fix."

Council member Wayne Saverud supported the budget adjustments but insisted "we can squeeze more out of the budget if we look closely. We've got to open a dialog with the community for other revenue sources," perhaps instituting levies for parks and recreation or for public safety.

"If the public understands the desperate situation, they may be willing to consider these," Saverud said.

And the situation is desperate, according to the council.

"I don't want to lay anybody off but my obligation to the taxpayer is to make sure [the city] doesn't go broke," Olson said.

Council member Kari Gabriel said her colleagues all had valid points.

"But we all have the same priority," Gabriel said. "We need to look at it every month and exhaust everything else before we lose our best resource, and that's our people."

The council voted 8-1, with Hafferman dissenting, to direct Webb to trim the $99,900.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com