Council-approved budget includes deficit

May 18, 2010

The Belen City Council last night unanimously approved a nearly $15-million budget that includes an unbalanced general fund and a projected deficit of more than $137,000.

The new mayor and city council began its budget discussions just two months ago, shortly after being elected and appointed, with a projected deficit of $3.2 million.

Over the past two months, they have made cuts to city spending to reduce the deficit, which included a reduction in force.

The lean budget is approximately $15 million less than the previous year’s budget, which included a major interchange improvement.

The new budget doesn’t fund any rehiring of employees who were laid off less than a month ago, when the city reduced staff by 24 employees, according to Michael Steininger, the city’s finance director. It also doesn’t fund new hires.

Employees remaining with the city can expect no additional layoffs, no reduction in pay and no involuntary furloughs as a result of the budget approved last night.

The budget funds only one new project — improvements to the roof on the municipal court, which leaks during rainstorms and has resulted in the growth of mold.

According to a city document concerning the approved budget, the city’s general fund will end the next fiscal year with a $111,358 cash balance.

With that amount remaining, the city won’t have one-twelfth of its general fund in reserve, a requirement in state law.

The budget, however, projects low gross receipts and property taxes revenue. Should the economy continue to recover, the city might have enough money to cover the one-twelfth requirement and to further cut back or eliminate the deficit.

Gross receipts in May came in $17,000 less than projected, or down eight percent. Since November, gross receipts have been down between nine and 10 percent compared to what had been projected.

Posted in: Budget