City proposes budget cuts despite surplus

By ABBEY KUNKLE
Special to the PRESS

The SPI City Council met last week for a workshop regarding the mid-year budget review. Finance Director Rodrigo Gimenez gave the council an update on current numbers in regards to revenue and expenditures and included projections for the remainder of the year. With intent to increase efficiency within the city departments, as well as to encourage confidence among citizens and taxpayers, Councilman Dennis Stahl, along with support of the rest of the council, recommended a 6 percent decrease of variable expenditures in the City’s starting budgets for the coming year.

Gimenez came to the Council with a thorough presentation on the City’s budget for the year to date. He began with information on the six month required reserves in the general fund, which is set at $5.6 million and was in excess of $205,000. The Convention Centre’s six month required reserves are near $2.9 million with excess reserves of about $20,000.

According to Gimenez, property taxes are the main source of revenue for the City’s general fund with a tax rate of about 26 cents per $100 valuation. Ten percent of the revenue is allocated for bonds while the remaining 90 percent is for maintenance and operations. The total budget collected through property taxes is currently at $6,378,171 and is projected to increase by about $41,000 during the remainder of the year.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2015/04/24/city-proposes-budget-cuts-despite-surplus/

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