Nevada council to conduct budget workshop

By Ralph Pokorny

Nevada Daily Mail

The Nevada City Council held a public hearing on the 2007 Nevada city budget during a special meeting Thursday night before a sparse crowd.

"The budget as proposed totals $12,257,566 which includes $4,520,609 in personnel costs, $3,077,700 for supplies and services, $293,928 for capital outlay, $3,811,500 for capital projects, $359,075 for debt service and operating transfers of $194,754 into the parks fund. The budget increases the overall cash balance for the city by $470,614," interim city manager Harlan Moore read from the budget letter accompanying the proposed 2007 budget Thursday night.

This compares to the final revised 2006 budget totaling $16,488,088, which included $1,566,461 in inter-fund transfers and $4,413,153 for capital projects.

The net operating budget for 2007 is $8,251,312 including debt service, compared to a 2006 net operating budget, including debt service of $10,508,394.

Moore told the council that they had not tried to identify the decrease on individual items, but it is reasonable to attribute it to a full year of operating with the cost cuts the council approved in the summer of 2006.

Additionally, an across-the-board management policy of only including mandatory increases in the proposed budget, as well as one-time expenses that were completed in 2007 and will not continue into 2007, contributed to this result.

Reading from the budget letter, Moore told the council that because of a lack of any new sources of revenue, managers are not recommending that any new projects or programs be considered unless they are accompanied by an adequate and sustainable revenue stream to cover all future operation and maintenance costs.

With the exception of the airport project, all capital improvement projects recommended in the 2007 budget are paid for with grants or dedicated sources of money.

According to the budget message the only other additions to the budget are upgrades to the city's computer hardware and software to increase the efficiency of the city's financial records and police records system. The budget also includes the addition of one employee each to the water treatment plant and the wastewater treatment plant and a part-time receptionist at the city hall.

Moore told the council that they are in the process of filling the vacant fire commander position and plan to use Cottey College interns at the utility billing counter.

The general fund in the proposed budget is 13.8 percent less than in the 2006 budget, reflecting the cuts made in July and changes in the city's accounting practices to pay for services from other departments directly, rather than using transfers into the general fund from other funds for those departments. There is one transfer from the general fund of $25,967 to the parks fund for janitorial services at the police facility and city hall and $10,000 for Main Street mowing.

According to the budget memo, this budget does not have the fund transfers to and from the Water and Sewer Fund that have occurred in the past. Any administrative costs will be charged directly to the appropriate expense account.

"It is estimated this budget will decrease the general fund deficit by $147,000. Continuing this trend could eventually lead to rebuilding adequate reserves necessary for a fiscally viable community," Moore told the council.

One project that will go forward this year is installing direction signs around the community for various locations.

To fund this project Moore told the council that the Tourism Fund budget is being increased by 11.5 percent over what was in the revised 2006 budget. This will be used to pay for the MoDOT Wayfinding sign program.

"We have discussed this for several years, but have not pursued it because we were not ready. We are now," Pat Chambers, I.M.P.A.C.T. Nevada, told the council.

We have been collecting money over the years that was not earmarked for our operating expenses to pay for this, Chambers said.

MoDOT should be able start work on the project almost immediately, he added.

"This is probably the smallest town to do this," Kathi Wysong, Nevada-Vernon County Chamber of Chamber of Commerce executive director, told the council.

She said that St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield and Independence are some of the towns that she knows of that have done this.

Wysong, in response to a question from Russ Kemm, a former tourism board member, told the council that while Nevada's tourism efforts are funded solely by the city's guest tax, other towns that understand the importance of tourism to their economy match the money collected from their guest tax, The chamber of commerce has a service agreement with the city to provide tourism services for the city.

Wysong also told the council that it would be a help to them if they had a three-year service agreement instead of the current one-year agreement, so they could provide some job security to a new tourism coordinator.

The city council will hold a special meeting Dec. 26, at 7 p.m., in the city council chambers to discuss the wastewater treatment project and to hold a budget workshop.