Finance Director Ron West
With residential property still the city's mainstay for income, taxes will continue to increase until economic development takes hold, officials said Thursday in a budget presentation.
"The homeowner bears the burden," Finance Director Ron West told a roomful of residents at the Senior Center.
Taxes will increase by $129.37 on the average home valued at $113,000, West said as he gave a slide show of fiscal realities for 2014. Last year, the increase was $166.06.
Mapp and West outlined strategies to stabilize the tax rate going forward, such as increasing the collection rate, auctioning off foreclosed properties and selling city-owned tax lien titles. Settlement of union contracts and addressing repeated audit recommendations could also help. The full presentation is posted on the city web site, along with the Municipal Data Sheet, which compares revenues and expenditures for 2013 and 2014.
The total budget is $75,028,647, with the largest portion going for public safety costs. The budget includes new positions including chief of staff at $80,000 and a media director at $85,000. The position of recreation superintendent will be restored at $80,000.
The total budget is $75,028,647, with the largest portion going for public safety costs. The budget includes new positions including chief of staff at $80,000 and a media director at $85,000. The position of recreation superintendent will be restored at $80,000.
Mapp said the city needs to "re-brand" itself in order to attract developers and new businesses that will improve the economy.
Although the presentation was labeled as the "introduced" budget, the meeting at the Senior Center preceded a regular council meeting where the governing body voted to introduce the budget. The administration's budget is now in the hands of the council, which can review and amend it before final passage. Mapp said he had invited the council to move their meeting to the Senior Center in order to hear the presentation, but the offer was declined.
At the council meeting in Municipal Court, a majority of the governing body balked at putting Mapp's six-month temporary appropriations on the agenda as a new item. William Reid, Gloria Taylor, Vera Greaves and Council President Bridget Rivers voted "no" and Rebecca Williams and Cory Storch voted "yes."
Storch asked Corporation Counsel David Minchello to explain the results of not making temporary appropriations by March 31 and Minchello said the city would not be able to run the city or pay employees. But Rivers said the council's Finance Committee wanted to meet with a budget consultant first and then hold a special meeting next week to deal with appropriations to run the city.
The budget consulting firm was only approved at the Thursday meeting and Rivers did not know which member of the firm would actually serve as the council's consultant. Storch said he never recalled a consultant dealing with a temporary budget, only with deliberations on the introduced budget. But Rivers, having called for a "sound temporary budget", said it was "not fair" the way the temporary budget was presented on Jan. 6 and on Thursday.
Storch wanted all members to agree on a date for the special meeting, as five votes would be needed to approve the appropriations, but Reid said he wanted to get a date when the consultant could be there. A further complication is that there are two meetings already scheduled next week, one Wednesday on the Affordable Care Act and one Thursday on a city-sponsored study of the Muhlenberg site.
Storch, who serves with Reid and Taylor on the council's Finance Committee, said he was surprised at the turn of events and added, "We have to do better."
--Bernice
Although the presentation was labeled as the "introduced" budget, the meeting at the Senior Center preceded a regular council meeting where the governing body voted to introduce the budget. The administration's budget is now in the hands of the council, which can review and amend it before final passage. Mapp said he had invited the council to move their meeting to the Senior Center in order to hear the presentation, but the offer was declined.
At the council meeting in Municipal Court, a majority of the governing body balked at putting Mapp's six-month temporary appropriations on the agenda as a new item. William Reid, Gloria Taylor, Vera Greaves and Council President Bridget Rivers voted "no" and Rebecca Williams and Cory Storch voted "yes."
Storch asked Corporation Counsel David Minchello to explain the results of not making temporary appropriations by March 31 and Minchello said the city would not be able to run the city or pay employees. But Rivers said the council's Finance Committee wanted to meet with a budget consultant first and then hold a special meeting next week to deal with appropriations to run the city.
The budget consulting firm was only approved at the Thursday meeting and Rivers did not know which member of the firm would actually serve as the council's consultant. Storch said he never recalled a consultant dealing with a temporary budget, only with deliberations on the introduced budget. But Rivers, having called for a "sound temporary budget", said it was "not fair" the way the temporary budget was presented on Jan. 6 and on Thursday.
Storch wanted all members to agree on a date for the special meeting, as five votes would be needed to approve the appropriations, but Reid said he wanted to get a date when the consultant could be there. A further complication is that there are two meetings already scheduled next week, one Wednesday on the Affordable Care Act and one Thursday on a city-sponsored study of the Muhlenberg site.
Storch, who serves with Reid and Taylor on the council's Finance Committee, said he was surprised at the turn of events and added, "We have to do better."
--Bernice
For all its concern about the budget, the 'Council of No' didn't verbalize any specific problems with the temporary budget, and preferred to send three members on a junket to Washington D.C., causing the cancellation of last week's meeting, and leaving themselves, the public, and the newly hired consulting group with minimum time to review the document and make any changes before the end of the month, when money would run out to pay City employees. Once again the Council entered its comfort zone of ignorance and contempt, allowing more time for members to ramble on about Legal Shield than they give themselves for thoughtful discussion on the $72 million budget tab. Their obsession with herding employees into the Legal Shield cage, we were warned, would rear its ugly head again and again, in meeting after meeting. No thought is to be given to any alternative plans, or why, if Legal Shield, why not anything else under the sun, like the electric bill, rent, or an employee's PMUA bill? The hucksters just say "Show me the money".
ReplyDeleteLegal Shield again? Oh, if I had known, I would have been there--so I guess I can't miss any Council meetings from here on because I'm sure Legal Shield will keep on coming back. Some member of the Council seem determined to break the law with this stuff--I will explain fully next time. But as I said before, this is an employee benefit and belongs at the bargaining table. Just wait!
ReplyDelete"In the hands of the council" - God help us!!!!
ReplyDeleteAllen when you refer to the Council of No, are you referring to Mapp, Williams, Storch,and McWilliams? That group was the real Council of No.Mapp can say lets raise taxes $500 more per household his followers would say, that's a good idea,his justification is expressed very clear,although wrong as could be, but his followers go right along with it.I agree enough of that legal shield.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you can "rebrand" a stolen cow but it is far more difficult to "rebrand" poor ole Plainfield. The middle income family is caught in a vice amongst the new prohibitive costs of health care insurance, escalating property taxes, plus a PMUA bill which for a mid-sized house ranges between $1500 and $2000 non-tax exempt dollars a year. Every property tax increase results in a commensurate decrease in property values. Lovely homes are being given away. We have lived here for 56 years and now must start looking to the Kentucky Hills for refuge in our Golden Years. The problem is that whatever gold there might have been has migrated to someone elses pockets. I want to congratulate the Chief of Staff, the Police Director, upon their new appointments, the Commissioners of The PMUA who continue to receive illegal benefits, the 3 participants in the Washington DC conference, the 2 recipients of the Million Dollar award from the PMUA as they continue to receive their annual paydown, and Legal Shield for successfully negotiating confirmed guaranteed payments from the City for a personal service. ( and consuming an enormous amount of Council time while the budget went begging ) .All is not gloom, I am anxiously awaiting the Bond Offering for the new parking facility so that I can receive a triple tax exemption on the interest income. Lastly, I am still awaiting the 300 word essay from each of our Washington representatives illuminating us on how their attendance at the Conference will inure to the public's benefit. Bill Kruse
ReplyDeleteYou go, Bill.
ReplyDeleteI have lived here 69 years, my entire life. My Mom and my Grandmother were born here.I guess we're not very ambitious, but I like my house,my neighbors and Plainfield. I put out one plastic grocery-store bag os trash sometimes once a week, because I compost and recycle and take plastic bags to the A&P, extra hangers to the dry-cleaners (I also drive a hybrid, but that doesn't count in this discussion.)
I'd love a tax deduction if the PMUA functions appeared on our tax bills. I thought a parking deck was a good idea until I read your post.
Maybe the mayor can cut out his newly created job for his friend john Mr. Chief of Staff who thinks he is the C.O.S LIKE IN THE WHITE HOUSE and the Council should take a 50% pay cut and not take anymore trips to help save the hard working tax payer money on their already high property taxes. Don't the people know that when the taxes go up the rent goes up? Plainfield has 50% of its housing units as rented but they still vote for the same old self serving tax raising party!
ReplyDeleteI would just be happy if Greaves and Reid would pay their taxes on time like everyone else. The old, I pay my taxes right before names are announced is a poor commentary on our leadership. And using that term in the same sentence as using city council makes my stomach turn.
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