As the Blytheville City Council awaits Mayor James Sanders' proposed 2015 budget, Thursday night the Finance and Purchasing Committee reviewed current numbers to prepare for the budget process.
The mayor's budget must be submitted by Dec. 1, and the City Council must adopt the final budget by Feb. 1, per state law.
Councilman Tommy Abbott, chairman of the Finance Committee, said in next year's budget, the city will have to account for potentially having to pay nearly $1.5 million in what he called unfulfilled obligations, including potential jail fees of $450,000 and unpaid excise taxes projected at $978,488.
The jail fees issue is in litigation, and the city is still waiting on an exact figure from the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration on how much it owes in excise taxes.
The city also still owes the Greater Blytheville Area Chamber of Commerce $21,000, that should be paid this year, according to Finance Director John Callens. The city has fulfilled its obligations to the Mississippi County Union Mission, Main Street Blytheville and the Great River Charitable Clinic, Callens said.
Abbott reported that without the excise taxes and jail fees, the city is on pace to break even, after spending about $1.2 million less than budgeted in the General Fund: a projected $7,783,919.99 versus the budgeted $9,035,132. He reported the total projected expenditures are $15,232,003, while the budgeted amount was $15,229,710.
Total revenues are projected at $16,266,033.
"If you take away the obligated funds, we're in just about a break-even situation with these budgets being where they're at," Abbott said. "But we wouldn't be there if we hadn't restricted their spending throughout the year."
He said the projections give city leaders a good idea where the budget needs to be next year.
"Certainly, I think it needs to be discussed a lot further than that, but basically the numbers that we've got in this projected annual is going to be pretty close to the numbers they need to be budgeting off of," Abbott said.
He added: "The things that throw all that off is the fact that we've still not been paying jail fees, and we still have this $978,000 worth of excise taxes in front of us. We've still got to figure out how we're going to overcome that. It's $1,450,000 or something like that that we've got the potential to have to incorporate in the 2015 budget."
Abbott noted there are some departments that have no more room for cuts.
"Looking at these departments that are fed out of the General Fund and just separating Parks and Rec completely from it, you've got several of these departments -- City Collector, City Clerk, Municipal Court and City Attorney, Transfer Station, Animal Control -- these are departments that there's not a whole lot more you can do as far as trimming their budgets," Abbott said. "So if we truly need to get the General Fund where it needs to be, then we're going to have to look at General Administration; we're going to have to look at Police; we're going to have to look at Fire. We're going to have to look at Health and Sanitation. Those are the places where that million and a half has got to come from overall. That's the harsh realities of it. I'm anxious to see what Mr. Callens and the mayor is going to come up with to throw at us in a few days. Really and truly, all I wanted us to do tonight is to begin thinking in a direction that we've got to think."
Councilman Kevin Snow said he would like to see the city keep a running total of expenses and revenues for revenue-producing departments, showing their dedicated funds and uses.
He suggested that the Police and Fire departments budget separately for the police and fire tax money.
Callens noted Fire Chief Mike Carney has broken down all expenses that can come out of the Fire Department's portion of the tax, including using 5 percent of those funds to pay salaries, which takes some of the burden off the General Fund.
The Police and Fire Departments have separate accounts for their tax money.
"If we treat it like a savings account, almost, until they need equipment or something and then pull it out," Councilman Stan Parks said.
The Fire Department also gets Act 833 money, which has restricted uses.
In other news, Callens told the board that the CATPC is in the process of getting at least one more person on the checking out signature card, because one of the two on the card, Cecil Holifield, is deceased.
Abbott pointed out the city may need someone else who can sign checks after Jan. 1, when the city treasurer's position is consolidated with the city clerk. Currently, the city clerk, city treasurer and mayor can sign checks, and it requires two signatures. After Jan. 1, there will only be a city clerk/treasurer and mayor who can sign checks, and Abbott said perhaps a city councilman -- the Finance Committee chairman and/or president of the Council -- could serve that role only if the mayor or city clerk/treasurer is unavailable.
The city is researching whether a council member may sign checks.
Meanwhile, Thursday night the Finance Committee approved the following requisitions:
-- Surge protectors for generators at the Fire Department and Waterworks, at a cost of $10,500 each. The Fire Department will use fire funds; Waterworks will use Infrastructure funds.
-- A backhoe bucket for the Wastewater Department, at a cost of $1,314.
-- A salt and sand spreader and a snow plow for the Street Department, at a cost of $9,265, to be paid out of the Street Fund.
-- Cutter tip blades for the Fire Department's extrication tool, at a cost of $1,400. The BFD will use fire tax money.
mbrasfield@blythevillecourier.com