Staffing Levels Decline a Bit in New City Budget

Shoreline’s 2012 city budget will be $54.7 million, about 35 percent less than it was in 2011, mainly because of a reduced capital budget.

City manager Julie Underwood and assistant city manager Debbie Tarry unveiled the new budget to the City Council on Monday.

The operating budget is $36.2 million, a 1 percent decrease from 2011.

The passage of Proposition 1 last year, stabilized one-third of the primary revenue source, Underwood said, but did not provide money for new or enhanced services.

Overall the city is losing about 0.9 full-time equivalent positions a trend that has continued since 2008, but several positions are being added while others are going away.

The budget includes a new city engineer position at a cost of $110,000 a year, to help coordinate the city’s development review process.

Public Works director Mark Relph handled those duties when he was first hired about five years ago.

“We tried that,” Underwood said. “It hasn’t worked as well.”

A surface water technician will be added to the Public Works Department at a cost of $76,000.  A facilities maintenance worker will be added to service city facilities at a cost of $46,300. The city has only one full-time person now.

A full-time and half-time person will be added to start-up the city’s animal control program. That, however, won’t occur until the last two months of 2012. The startup costs are about $43,000.

Major equipment purchases include $215,000 for a dump truck and sander replacement.

Several new other new expenses are included in the budget this year.

A significant addition to the budget is $500,000 which is going to help complete sidewalk projects.

A $140,000 is going toward an asset management system, which will cost $40,000 per year to operate.

Also new to the budget is a $40,000 one-time charge to update the city’s geographical information system’s topographical information.

Another new item is a one-time $40,000 charge for an environmental impact statement that’s needed to complete the city’s comprehensive plan update.

The financial sources of the $54.7 million budget are as follows:

•Taxes (sales, property, etc.) $21 million or 30.1 percent of the budget.

•Grants, $14.8 million or 21.2 percent

•Utility taxes, franchise fees and contract payments, $7.8 million or 11. 2 percent.

•Use of the beginning fund balance, $7.6 million or 10.8 percent.

•Transfers between funds, $6.95 million, 9.9 percent

•Fees and permits, $6.2 million, 8.9 percent

•State and federal funding, $4 million, 5.7 percent.

•Other $1.5 million, 2.1 percent