Spokane Web site lets residents balance city budget

Would-be bean counters and amateur policy wonks can take a crack at balancing the city of Spokane’s budget woes.

The city’s official Web site – www.spokanecity.org – includes a device called a “budget calculator” that allows users to electronically write their own city budget.

“As a citizen you can build your own budget,” said Mayor Jim West during a news briefing this morning.

Department heads across much of city government have proposed their 2006 spending plans in a bidding system designed to rank services in order of importance. Those bids include detailed descriptions, costs and potential revenues.

The problem is the city’s $121 million general fund is about $6 million short next year on what it would take to finance all of the bids.

The mayor and council are now in the process of choosing which of the bids will make the final cut to receive funding for 2006 under the “priorities of government” budgeting system. Any cuts next year will come on top of substantial budget reductions from 2004 to 2005, which included reductions in police, fire, streets, library, park, planning and other services.

In one of the largest bids, the police department submitted its core patrol services in the category of safety at a cost of $20 million, which makes it about one-sixth of the city’s general tax fund.

According to the bid on the city’s Web site, “Patrol Services are comprised of the 14 patrol teams, six neighborhood resource officers, K9 patrols, and one domestic violence officer. Patrol services also include all specialty response teams, including: SWAT, Explosive Disposal Unit, Critical Incident Management, hostage negotiation, and dignitary protection. As such, patrol services constitute the indispensable core of front-line police first-responder services for the city of Spokane.”

At the other end of the spectrum are services such as arts, historic preservation, urban forestry, community centers and allo cations to nonprofit human services agencies.

Budget problems stem from rising wages and benefits against modest growth in tax revenue. Wages are going up 5 percent annually, including cost-of-living raises, overtime, promotions and increases for experience.

At the same time, taxes are increasing about 2.5 percent.

West said he and council members are considering a ballot measure to seek an increase in the state-imposed limit on increases in regular property tax collections. The measure could bring up to $5 million a year.

The mayor also said he has not received completed results yet from a telephone survey of 250 city residents asking them whether they would support a property tax increase. The state limits property tax increases to 1 percent a year without a public vote. The tax next year is expected to be slightly more than $3.50 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, but the city – with voter approval – could raise the levy to a constitutional limit of $3.60. Each penny of assessment raises about $1 million citywide.

Rising property values have caused the gap between the state-imposed levy limit and the constitutional limit.