Ballard area community leaders have put a lot of thought into their current budgets, and are confident that they have made decisions that will make the 2010 year a successful one.
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Huxley City Administrator John Haldeman said the city council did a great job of determining where the money would be most wisely spent.
"The department heads went through to see what could be decreased and what could be maintained," he said. "A lot of work by the city council went into trying to hold the line in today's economy."
Haldeman said the only major change this year is the elimination of the school resource officer, which the city decided to cut after the school had also decided to drop the position from their budget. The position will be terminated as of July 1.
No other positions or programs were dropped; however, there were some overall cutbacks.
The budget the Huxley City Council adopted for Fiscal Year 2010 will be funded with approximately 13.7 percent less property taxes. This would be for the combination of the property taxes in the General Fund and the Debt Service Fund. The levy for the upcoming year is approximately 6.21 percent less than last year. All this should mean approximately 3.067 percent less city taxes that Huxley property owners should be paying starting next October, according to Haldeman. (The City of Huxley's portion represents about 27 percent of the property owner's tax statement. The 3.067 percent tax decrease is only reflective of the City's portion of the tax bill.)
Slater
The City of Slater made cuts last year, which put them in a pretty comfortable position leading into the current uncertain state of the economy. The city, which had almost all new staff last year, made a 15 percent across the board cut to the budget at that time, according to City Clerk/Administrator Mary Beth Chinery.
"Basically, this is a good year," she said. "By making the cutbacks last year, we have some breathing room this year when things aren't quite as cheery."
The City of Slater actually added a component this year. Deputy Clerk Jennifer Davies will be heading up economic development for the community, according to Chinery. Davies has a background in economic development, so it is fitting to have her work in that way for the city.
"It's a small percentage of her duties, but it is something we haven't had in this capacity in the past," said Chinery.
Chinery said the economic development funds will be money well spent in an effort to keep Slater growing and to bring things into town that will increase the tax base. Though it will take some time to see results, Chinery said Slater doesn't want to sit and wait while other cities grow up around them.
Cambridge
Cambridge Mayor Scott DeYoung said Cambridge has not had to make any budget cuts this year.
"We're actually sitting pretty good," said DeYoung. Our general fund over the past eight years had doubled."
DeYoung said the increase in funds has been largely due to the fact that the city has been using TIFF funds to service debt. The city has done a considerable amount of infrastructure work that has been paid for by TIFF funds, allowing the general fund to build up, according to DeYoung.
Because the city has been fiscally responsible and is in a good position, they are looking for new startup businesses the city can help establish, according to DeYoung.
"We've actually helped a couple businesses in town get going," he said. "I think we're in a good position to expand and move forward."
