Budget Plan Makes Case for Tax Increase

City officials have devised a two-pronged approach to drafting their next budget.

They intend to approve one budget based on last year’s $38-million spending plan as if the financial life of the city were normal.

At the same time, they will also introduce $2 million worth of cuts in city services to fill what they know is a gaping hole in revenue sources.

It’s part of a plan to confront voters and City Council members with drastic spending cuts as a way to encourage them to support a ballot measure increasing utility taxes, officials admit. The election is tentatively set for June 3.

Finance Director Greg Beaubien and City Manager Kevin O’Rourke laid out the strategy at what normally would have been a midyear budget review this week. A follow-up session is set for Feb. 10.

“This is not an average budget year,” O’Rourke told the elected officials, two of whom are new to the council and did not back the measure during their campaigns.

Some decisions with lasting impact will be made within the next few months, Beaubien said. A three-year labor contract will end in March and have to be renegotiated.

Stopgap measures the city has used to backfill revenue shortfalls will have to be replaced with permanent solutions, officials warned.

After resolving the ongoing deficit, council members will have the onerous task of telling residents they must choose between fewer services or higher taxes, they said.

“I would suggest you go out and get the involvement of the community if you talk about reducing services,” O’Rourke said. “Take this show on the road.”