| Contact Info |
Timothy Dunivant
Office of Management & Budget
4th Floor, City Hall
808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd.
Spokane, Wa 99201
(509) 625-6845 |
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City of Spokane Budget
Spokane Mayor Mary Verner filed the proposed 2010 City Budget on Nov. 2. The Budget is now being reviewed by the City Council, who will hold public hearings on the budget throughout November. The Council must adopt a balanced 2010 budget prior to the end of 2009, per state law.
The proposed budget is balanced, overcoming a projected shortfall for 2010 that was due primarily to the local, state, and national economic recession. The Mayor praised City employees for contributing to the 2010 Budget solution.
“This budget represents a victory for the health and well-being of our citizens and our community,” said Mayor Verner. “We overcame significant financial challenges and developed a budget that limits additional costs for citizens, while minimizing reductions in City services.”
The budget includes a mix of savings, revenues, and some percentage cuts. It also includes modest use of reserve funds and conservative revenue estimates to ensure the City’s ability to weather further economic decline in 2010 and to assist with balancing the 2011 b
udget.
The City and Police Guild are in discussions, but for now, the proposed budget includes the elimination of 22 commissioned police officer positions in 2010. Twenty of those positions are currently vacant.
The overall 2009 proposed City budget totals $602.9 million, with the General Fund portion of the budget totaling $161 million. The City’s General Fund pays for police, fire, streets, parks, and libraries, among other things. Revenue from the General Fund comes from sales, property, and utility taxes.
To keep up with community needs during these tough economic times, the Mayor noted that the budget maintains funding for direct Human Services grants from the City’s General Fund at $960,000, just $40,000 less than in 2009. An additional $1.5 million in federal stimulus funding for homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing programs also will serve families in our community.
The City also will continue with work to find efficiencies and cost savings in 2010. The City’s Employee-Led Innovation program is focusing on using employee ideas to improve processes and find savings. Among other things, Police employees brought forward a variety of changes that have resulted in overtime savings of $485,000 in 2009, and Library employees have reduced turnaround time in the bindery area, reducing the turnaround time for repairing and reshelving damaged books to eight weeks instead of 12.
Under the proposed 2010 budget, the City would have a $602.9 million budget for 2010 that includes the following components:
- General Fund - A 2010 General Fund budget of $161.0 million, compared with a $155.5 million budget in 2009.
The General Fund portion of the budget supports general municipal services, including police and criminal justice, fire and emergency medical response, streets, parks, libraries, planning, community and economic development, and a host of smaller specialized services aimed at neighborhoods, youth, the arts, historic preservation, and human services, among others. The General Fund is supported by general tax dollars, including sales, property, and public and private utility taxes.
- Enterprise Funds - A 2010 $286.7 million Enterprise Funds budget which is slightly higher than the $282.6 million in 2009.
The Enterprise Funds provide clean drinking water, storm water collection, wastewater reclamation, garbage pick-up and disposal, building services, and golf operations. These services are supported by fees charged to consumers of the services. Year-to year, the Enterprise Funds budget can vary widely depending on the cost of capital projects that are planned.
These funds draw matching federal, state, and grant dollars in the millions of dollars each year, which go into dozens of contracts with local companies, stimulating jobs and reinvestment in our local economy.
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The balance of the overall City budget—or $155 million—includes non-operating funds reserved for capital projects ($59M), such as major arterial street projects and public works upgrades, debt service on general government bonds ($23M), Pension Expenditures ($29M), and special dedicated revenue and other funds, which include local law enforcement block grants and special quality-of-life projects.
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The City also has “internal services” funds. These internal programs, including Fleet Services, Management Information Services (MIS), and Risk Management, charge fees to other City departments to cover the cost of their services.
Download these documents for more information:
The 2009 City Budget
The City of Spokane currently is operating under the adopted 2009 budget. The 2009 Adopted Budget totaled $618.2 million and included a $155.5 million General Fund.
Download the 2009 Adopted Budget Summary Schedules and the 2009 Budget Book for more information on the 2009 Adopted Budget.
More information on the City's budget is available by calling the City's Finance Division at 625-6585. |
