City preps for budget cuts

By Ed Richter
Staff Writer 11:39 PM Thursday, April 23, 2009

Middletown City Council’s Finance Subcommittee met Thursday, April 23, to review the city’s budget and look at ways to cut it by $704,000.

The city is projecting a budget shortfall of between $750,000 and $1 million for the general fund that pays for city operations and services.

City Manager Judy Gilleland asked department heads for suggestions to cut 2 percent or $574,379 of their budgets, which are part of the $29.9 million general fund.

She received suggestions for 2.4 percent in cuts that included buying fewer police cruisers; not filling several vacant positions; and reducing overtime, professional services, supplies and capital equipment purchases.

Gilleland said she did not feel any decisions had to be made yet as the city will know more in mid-May how it fared in its income tax collections. Personal tax returns were due April 15, but quarterly income tax payments are due on April 30. She also suggested another meeting May 13 before making a final recommendation.

Finance Director Russ Carolus said property taxes for the 2009 first half settlement are down in Butler and Warren counties, at $28,525 and $106,000, respectively.

The city also learned April 22 that construction of the proposed SunCoke plant may not begin until early 2010.

Other suggestions to raise revenues included charging residents to cover the $578,976 cost each year for street lighting; and generating $240,000 by reducing the income tax credit by 0.25 percent for residents who don’t work in the city.

A suggestion to raise the city’s income tax by 0.25 percent to 2 percent to raise $3 million was briefly mentioned, but not discussed.

The topic of dipping into the city’s reserve fund of $7.19 million was broached but members seemed to want to find other cuts first .