Whitefish tightens belt on budget

The city of Whitefish is poised to handle an economic slowdown with a three-pronged approach for its budget: Freeze spending and hiring, raise some fees and use cash reserves as a cushion.

The City Council on Monday will vote on a final budget of $28.7 million for the 2008-09 fiscal year that began July 1. It's $804,380 higher than last year's budget, but wastewater treatment plant improvements account for most of the increase.

The general fund, which pays for services and projects that typically are not self-supporting, took a revenue hit from the construction slowdown.

Income from planning fees - driven by new construction - are projected to be down more than $200,000 from last year. The 2007-08 budgeted had a record high $325,380 in revenue from planning fees; this year just $125,000 is budgeted.

Total appropriations in the general fund are about $106,000 below last year. To offset the reduction, general-fund transfers to support law enforcement, fire and rescue, and parks and recreation funds have been reduced or frozen, according to the final budget draft.

Appropriations in the building-codes fund also have been reduced about $91,000 from last year.

With cash reserves added in, the total general-fund budget is $4,087,669. It was $4,405,251 last fiscal year.

The city already has made some progress in raising fees to offset slimmer revenues. Ambulance rates were increased in July. And voters last month approved a 24-mill tax levy to pay for around-the-clock fire and ambulance service.

In response to budget goals set by the City Council, the city will budget for a potential increase in sold-waste service fees and street maintenance assessments.

Whitefish will continue a hiring freeze that began earlier this year, holding the city's staffing level at 86 employees.

Given the slowdown at the planning office, there doesn't appear to be a need for the two planner positions that had been anticipated to handle the workload of the critical-areas ordinance that went into effect in April, former City Manager Gary Marks said in his final report.

City employees will get a 4.1 percent cost-of-living raise, and many city workers also will get a 2 percent longevity increase.

The law-enforcement budget will increase by $121,521, with most of the increase split between salaries and equipment.

The parks and recreation department will get by with about $28,000 less this year.

Whitefish will use money from bonding its tax-increment finance district to pay for a new emergency-services center on Baker Avenue.

A construction reserve fund has been set up for a new City Hall, but beyond an appropriation this year to complete pre-construction steps for a new City Hall, that project isn't expected to move forward any further during this budget year.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com