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closeSumner reduces budget by 2 percent
Roxanne Cooke
The city of Sumner has made cuts to its 2008 budget to make up for lower than anticipated revenues, according to a memo from City Administrator John Doan and Deputy City Administrator Diane Supler.
Officials have implemented a 2 percent reduction in general fund expenditures because of the worsening economic conditions that drive the city’s revenue and financial forecast, according to the memo, presented to the Sumner City Council at its March 3 meeting.
“Given where the economy’s at, it’s prudent for the city to take these types of measures,” Doan said.
City department directors teamed up to decide which program cuts to make. Most of the cutbacks relate to the city’s operations and include leaving some city positions open, reducing travel and training, eliminating overtime and temporary positions and decreasing professional services in some departments.
Making the budget cuts helps the city to live more within its means, said Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow.
“This is all about keeping the city strong and keeping it responsible,” he said.
The 2 percent reduction was the quickest and easiest tool at hand, and just the right amount to cut, Doan said. The reduction was an option discussed at last year’s council retreat as one method to prevent the city from falling into a potential $7.35 million deficit by 2012.
“If we went much higher than (2 percent), we were into more significant staff and program reductions,” he said.
Factors that contribute to the budget cuts include the slow housing market, decreased demand for new construction, higher gas prices and the increasing costs of operation, the memo reads. The loss of several police department employees also negatively impacts the financial situation, though some of the salary savings offset those losses.
Sumner officials are hopeful that the economy will pick up, though, Doan said. There is good news: Land use permit applications are increasing and there’s vacant land in several areas of Sumner that is ripe for construction. In addition, permits for a Honda dealership, Investco’s headquarters and a Holiday Inn Express have been submitted.
That new retail may bring increased sales tax, but not until later in the year. If voters approve the annexation into Fire District No. 22, that will also help the city for the long term.
“I think there are better days ahead,” Enslow said. “I see a city that’s learned how to live in a very lean sort of way, that when it gets better revenue we’ll be in a much better position.”
When the budget was prepared last fall, officials based numbers on conservative estimates but assumed retail sales and construction would provide at least a minimal amount of growth. The budget cuts will not affect the council’s goals for strategic priorities or goals listed in the 2008 budget.