Stamps Budget Meeting January 9th, 2024
The City of Stamps held another budget meeting on January 9th as it looks to get a budget approved ahead of the February 01, 2024, deadline. Two members of the council, Jo Gwen Phillips and Sheila Dickson, attended the meeting. Also present alongside Mayor Mitchell-Gweah was the city’s treasurer, Annette Falin.
The city had held a previous meeting on December 12th where it focused on the general fund’s budget. Several revenue projections were reduced to more accurately reflect actual revenues collected over the previous 5 years.
Tuesday’s meeting started off revisiting the general fund to identify where more revenues could be realized and where expenses could be cut. Council members advised that without funds from ticket writing, there was no money to cover the budget. The mayor countered and advised that the city long before her tenure had operated in a budget shortfall. The city covered up this budget shortfall on paper by over projecting revenues that they fully knew the city realistically would not collect. The city has operated in a budget deficit (i.e., the red) for three of the past five years. In 2021, the city averted a shortage only because it received COVID funding. That COVID funding was used to cover a portion of police salaries. The only year of the last five years that the city’s general fund operated in the black was 2020. The city was in the black by just $11,000 and like 2021, the budget shortfall in 2020 was mostly averted because of a grant received by the city. The city also saw a modest increase in property taxes in 2020 which also contributed to a true, balanced budget.
The mayor went on to state the budgetary issues facing the city was not because officers were not writing enough tickets. This is clear as the city had written plenty of tickets in the years preceding, yet still the general fund and many other funds were operating in the red. Instead, the mayor said that the city was in the red because city officials had failed to identify ways the city could generate revenue. City officials are stuck in an antiquated mindset where they are stuck on doing things the same as 20 years ago thinking the budget would take care of itself. But it hasn’t and problems have only compounded as the city population declines and tax base declines with it. The mayor gave examples of a recycling program, building and occupancy permits, park fees, sale of dirt and gravel and copying and notary services as ways to generate revenue. She said the city needed to focus on ways to deliver services to residents that they were willing to pay for and let go of their push to balance the budget through punitive means such as ticket writing. The general fund budget was set aside with the hope that cuts could be taken across other departments that will help to balance the general fund.
Matters of the police budget creeped back into the discussion as it was pointed out that part-time officers would begin to receive retirement benefits. The council questioned where money to support these additional benefits would come from. The mayor said under her watch she was going to be fair and equitable. The city currently provides its volunteer firefighters retirement benefits, and it will start to do the same for its part-time police officers. The mayor mentioned they may have to consider cutting staff as an expense reduction. She also redirected Annette to call Premier and Walnut Hill to get comparative price for its phone and internet service. The city pays over $2500 in phone services for the city hall alone. This does not include cell phones and lines for other departments including sewer, water and health and sanitation.
City officials worked through several other smaller budget funds including those for the sewer and water department, the fire department and court administration. The mayor wanted to review budget allocations to identify ways to provide street and water department staff raises. Staff have not received raises for the past several years. Aside from the street supervisor, most staff in these departments make about $11.25 an hour. While Annette said she did not know the street’s supervisor’s base salary off hand, she stated the former Mayor Brenda Davis started paying the street supervisor an extra $350.00 per week to cover the extra duties he had taken on for the water department. No other staff has or is being paid for “extra” duties. Meanwhile, the council members present stated because of staff shortages the recycling program collection has stopped, water audits were 2 years behind, dirt requests were going unfilled and supplies for street repairs were under budget since it had limited staff to complete the work. The city pays an independent contractor to complete the monthly water tests as no city employees are certified to do so. With these reductions in services, it is unclear what extra duties of the water department the street supervisor is completing.
The final budget meeting is scheduled for January 16th at 5pm at the Stamps City Hall. The meeting is open to the public.
