City Budget Reflects Shared Sacrifice

City Council recently approved a $3.9 billion budget for FY 2011 that temporarily raises property taxes by 9.9 percent. Currently, 45 percent of real estate taxes in the city are paid by commercial businesses.

The budget also taxes tobacco products including cigars and loose tobacco, and initiates a $300 trash-collection fee for businesses that do not contract with a private hauler.

Without the 2 cents-an-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened drinks that the Nutter Administration said would have raised an estimated $14 million, the current budget leaves the city with $42 million in cash reserves, which is roughly $10 million less than Council's consultants recommended.

To compensate for the sugar drink tax, City Council cut the Administration's projected cash reserves by $20 million — a margin that Mayor Nutter said was too thin. The Mayor said cuts in police, fire and libraries would be needed to close this gap. These cuts would include eliminating two new police classes, closing two fire departments and reducing library budgets and hours. City Council is expected to review the library cuts on Thursday, June 3.

The GPCC believes that this year's municipal budget requires a shared sacrifice approach. Rob Wonderling, GPCC President and CEO, testified on the City budget before City Council on May 13, where he stated that this year's budget must cut spending and impose realistic goals for revenue.

“If we are truly to address the challenges of the future, it must produce real efficiencies on the spending side, and shared responsibility on the revenue side by both businesses and residents,” said Mr. Wonderling.

View the Chamber's testimony here: http://news.gpcc.com/2010/05/chamber-testimony-on-citys-fy-11-budget/

The City Charter requires that the budget be completed this week, a deadline to which Mayor Nutter has said he intends to adhere.