No scheduled raises in LR budget plan despite spending lift
Little Rock officials have proposed a $3.7 million increase to the city’s budget next year for total spending of more than $193 million.
The $193,587,211 proposed budget was presented to the Little Rock Board of Directors for the first time Tuesday, prompting criticism from some city directors who said Dec. 2 was too late in the year to be getting their first look.
More than a dozen police officers — as well as representatives of the police, fire and non-uniform employee unions — turned out for Tuesday night’s meeting, which ran in excess of fourand-a-half hours, to protest that there are no scheduled raises included in the proposal.
The city plans three public hearings to gather residents’ input on the budget. The first is 5:30 p.m. Monday at the Centre at University Park; the second is 5:30 p.m. Dec. 15 at the South West Community Center; the last is 6 p.m. Dec. 16 at City Hall.
The proposal presented
Tuesday notes that there are no salary increases other than police and fire step-and-grade progressions, but bonuses or raises will be considered midyear based on revenue growth.
“In my 12 years as city manager, I’ve only had one year — in 2008, I believe — that we haven’t had some type of salary increase for our employees. So this is a difficult one,” City Manager Bruce Moore said.
Jim Nichols, representing the non-uniform city employees, told the board that he hopes the city would invest in its human capital and consider putting off some infrastructure projects to allow for raises. Richard Morehead, representing the firefighters union, said the city saved money with a cheaper health care plan for next year and that those savings should go toward raises.
Moore countered that those savings are canceled out by increases in requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including that the city provide health care benefits to some part-time employees. He said the city saved about $960,000 going with the new health care plan and also mentioned increases in police overtime and information technology security.
A 1 percent pay raise for city employees would cost the city $1.25 million, Moore said. Ward 4 City Director Brad Cazort noted that the county is giving employees a 4 percent pay raise and other entities that the city provides money to are giving pay raises, so he objects to contributing to those raises without being able to offer a raise to city employees.
Cazort asked Moore to tell the board what could be cut to accommodate a 1 percent or 2 percent across-the-board raise.
“This budget obviously appears to be balanced on the back of city employees,” said John Hillcrest, representing the Little Rock Fraternal Order of Police. Hillcrest also said that savings from the new health care plan should be passed on to the employees.
The budget calls for the city to fill vacant 911 and 311 dispatcher positions and includes funding to maintain 27 police positions that were previously funded by grants. It also keeps 12 recently added firefighters for the west Little Rock station and retains 18 fire positions previously funded by grants.
New funding in next year’s budget is included for the operation of the recently built 12th Street Police Station, funding for part-time employees to keep the city in compliance with provisions of the Affordable Care Act, new operational funding to staff the West Central Community Center for the fourth quarter of the year after it opens, and a 5 percent increase in funding for operation of the county jail.
The city is also proposing to increase funding for weedlot maintenance, land bank properties and updating the Parks Master Plan.
Little Rock hopes to bring in additional revenue next year by increasing the cost of building permits by 3 percent. The permit fee hasn’t increased since 2006.
The city is also proposing to increase zoo admission fees. Adult admission would increase from $12 to $12.95, and child admission would go from $9 to $9.95.