“We need to have a communitywide discussion of city finances with the goal of coming to general agreement on what services we are willing to pay,” Hedglon said.
The city of Oneida Mayor’s Proposed 2010 Budget will be released for the public’s viewing Friday Oct. 30. Budgets for the water fund, sewer fund and General Fund Budget that includes the real property tax revenue, will also be released. The 2010 GFB does not increase the city’s real property tax rates; rather it reduces spending by about $288,000 compared to this year’s budget, according to city of Oneida Mayor Peter Hedglon.
In Hedglon’s budget message to the residents of Oneida, he said he set a goal of a zero percent tax increase because he understands that taxpayers are “stressed by the Great Recession,” and to show residents and taxpayers how city service costs affect taxes. With the tax effects, Hedglon said he hopes to spur conversation among residents in order for them “to decide which services they want and need, and what they are willing to pay for.”
In a past interview with the Madison County Eagle, Hedglon said the financial situation in the city has been a top issue and will continue to be on the city’s primary agenda until a budget issues are brought to a better balance.
While preparing the 2010 budget proposal, Hedglon said he “wasn’t holding back anything” because he wants residents to know all the truths of the city’s spending so that budget discussions can continue to be productive. He said he has used this strategy throughout his time as mayor. "The truth is the only way," the mayor said in political matters.
“Why should the taxpayers be kept in the dark?” Hedglon asked. “It’s their money; they should know how it will be spent.”
Because the Oneida Common Council acts as a representation of the population of the city, Hedglon said he and the council are simply working to make the budget information available and open for discussion because it ultimately affects “taxpayers’ dollars.” Each item kept in the budget or cut from the budget will have to be observed as a direct effect on “real property taxes,” according to the mayor.
Hedglon explained that several costs will increase in 2010. Some of the costs include mandatory state retirement plan contributions, health insurance premiums and workers’ compensation.
Because the 2009 budget discussions totaled more than 14 hours in order for taxes to be lowered as much as possible, Hedglon said he wanted to see if the process would move along more smoothly if the budget started with a zero tax increase and spending cuts designated by department heads.
“I had department heads suggest spending cuts,” Hedglon said. “This way, residents can see what could be cut.”
Common Council and residents can better view “a possible tax increase,” by observing addition-by-addition to the city’s spending if an item is chosen to be inserted into the 2010 budget, Hedglon said.
Hedglon said he cannot stress enough how important it is for residents to look over the budget and understand how each cost effects them and the real property taxes of the city. Because the mayor wants to encourage better understanding of cost-breakdowns, he included the spending example of the senior van transportation service.
“This information is critical for us to work on bringing expenses into balance with revenues,” Hedglon said in his proposal.
The senior van service would cost the city at least $51,436 to operate in 2010. The service would also require a new van purchase that would cost an estimated $35,000. Hedglon said this would be about a 3.2 percent tax rate increase for residents. The van currently serves 200 residents and a one-way trip would cost about $5.86 in 2010. Hedglon said a breakdown on the van service was necessary to the proposal because it will help illustrate the “needs and wants of the city.”
The van service is further broken-down with inclusion of figures such as the van trips serving 24.4 percent work trips, 16.4 percent personal trips, 19.2 percent shopping trips, 8.25 percent got t0 SNACK and 9.5 percent for socializing-related trips. The service also competes with three private taxi companies.
The Oneida Department of Public Works has a total $739,237 in cuts for the 2010 proposed budget, which gives it the highest in proposed decreases in spending.
The city’s fire department’s total cut is proposed at $123,129 and $91,174 for the Oneida Police Department.
Without any proposed cuts figured into the 2010 budget proposal, the total cuts would be $ 1,045,853.00, which would coincide with a zero percent tax increase for Oneida taxpayers. Residents may also view proposed and projected revenue possibilities with the budget information available at city hall.
Because the budget will ultimately be discussed item by item, Hedglon said that several expenditures will have to be viewed with 2009 and 2010 criteria, such as cost of living and possible revenue generators.
Hedglon said that the city had “real property tax cuts” during 2006 and 2008 in order to avoid a tax increase, which reduced the Contingency Fund and withdrew more money from the General Fund balance. According to Hedglon, the lower real property taxes in the past years may have appeared to be a taxpayer benefit, but the city has since paid for the consequences because revenue has been down during the recession.
“We need to have a communitywide discussion of city finances with the goal of coming to general agreement on what services we are willing to pay,” Hedglon said.
A public hearing will be scheduled for mid-November and the 2010 budget will be finalized at the beginning of December, Hedglon said.
The following are proposed budget cuts as reported by Oneida City Department heads and Oneida Mayor Peter Hedglon.
Comptrollers Office: $1,575.00
Chamberlain: $200.00
Assessor: $620.00
City Clerk: $2,550.00
Law: $2,100.00
Civil Service: $1,582.00
Fire:
Overtime - $30,000
Retirement - $10,000
Fire Marshall Overtime - $7,000
Training Overtime - $9,000
Personal Leave Overtime - $1,200
Equipment - $1,000
Social Security - $3,391
Medicare - $793
Material/Supplies - $6,200
Gas/Oil/Grease - $1,000
Turnout Gear - $2,000
Other Expenses - $7,890
Contracts - $500
Building Maintenance - $1,000
Equipment Maintenance and Repair - $7,670
Radio Maintenance - $500
Training Overtime - $17,335
Fire Prevention Supplies - $4,250
Confined Space Rescue Expenses - $2,000
Office Technology - $3,000
EMT Training - $7,400
Total - $123,129
Planning: $15,500
Public Works:
Traffic/Other - $150
Street Maintenance Administration Retirement - $26,932
Street Maintenance Retirement - $12,197
Street Maintenance Other Expenses - $500
Outside Highway Salt/Sand - $1,492
Central Garage Other Expenses - $100
Snow/Ice Control Other - $300
Storm Sewer Other - $100
Green Wastewater Removal Other - $300
Social Security - $2,133
Medicare - $499
Street Maintenance - $127,234
Recycled Asphalt Paving - $88,500
Sidewalk Replacement - $60,500
Portable Stop Signs - $11,000
Crosswalk Flashers - $6,000
Downtown Ornamental Lights - $14,000
Mt. Hope Dam Safety Inspection - $7,500
Hydraulic Sander Unit - $25,000
Street Sweeper Replacement - $196,000
Replace Tractor - $25,000
Three-ton Dump Truck with Plow - $53,000
City Hall HVAC - $8,035
18-inch Cold Planer - $12,150
Justice Center Garage Design - $28,375
Street Lighting - $30,000
Total - $ 739,237
Police Department:
Two Patrol Cars and CSO Vehicle - $76,000
Bike Rodeo - $1,500
Supplies - $3,700
Training Account - $2,000
Do Not Replace Retiring Lieutenant - $5,744
Radio Maintenance - $1,000
DWI Overtime - $500
Clothing - $700
Total - $91,174
Parks and Recreation:
Senior Van - $ 51,436
Replace Senior Van - $ 35,000
Total - $86,436
Proposed 2010 Budget cuts - $ 1,045,853.00
Other services not funded in 2009:
Remove downtown snow banks one time - $6,200
Crossing guards for vets when pool is operating - $ 7,742
Mosquito spraying - $ 29,900
