Council gets look at ‘balanced’ budget

Considers $5 million spending plan

What a difference a year makes, or more accurately, what a difference a day makes.

A year after the Lindsay Council faced a $645,600 deficit in its budget, on Tuesday night the council took its first look at next year’s budget which projects a $19,100 balance at the end of the year.

The reason for the difference: The June 6 election when voters of that city passed Measure O, a citywide 1 percent increase in the sales tax which officials expect will generate $600,000 next year and then approximately $900,000 a year after that.

The new tax, which passed overwhelmingly in a light turnout election, kicks in Oct. 1 and the city will start seeing the extra income in January. The sales tax measure was said to be a make-it-or-break-it proposition for the city.

Calling it a “tale of two Lindsays,” city Finance Director Brett Harmon told the council Tuesday, “Before Measure O we had a million dollar deficit in the general fund. The city could not sustain that. We were heading for insolvency.”

With the measure, several years of deficit budgets is coming to an end. The city is still not out of the woods, but its financial picture is greatly improved and as City Manager Bill Zigler said on election night after the results were in, “We now have a future.”

Overall, the city is looking at a general fund budget — which covers public safety, parks, library and administration — of $5 million, an increase of $700,000 over last year. However, instead of a projected $304,000 hole at the end of fiscal year 2017, the city is projecting a positive balance of $69,900 in its general fund at the end of FY 2018.

Included in that budget is the hiring of two police officers — one soon and the second after the first of the year — and the beginning of saving money for a new fire truck.

About the only department still in the red is Mcdarment Field House which has always operated at a deficit. Harmon said they have dwindled that deficit down to $100,000 and staff is looking at how it

can get that down to zero. Fee increases are likely, but Harmon said they do not intend for them to be so high as to chase off users of the facility which really sets Lindsay apart from other cities.

“We’re asking for two months to close the gap. If that happens, it will be the first time Mcdarment will be in the black,” said Harmon.

Including restricted and special funds, the city’s overall budget is about $12 million. The majority of the city’s revenue comes from taxes.

Road repairs took up much of the discussion of the restricted funds. The city has $1.5 million to spend and staff asked the council to come up with their own list of priorities. On the budget is cape seals on Tulare and Hermosa

streets, as well as downtown, and a major rehabilitation of Mirage Avenue and Linda Vista Loop.

The city is actually looking at a small reduction in staffing next year, then a

slight increase in 2019.

The council will hold a public hearing and vote for adoption of the budget at its meeting next Tuesday.