TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

City Budget Invests In Future, Cuts Recurring Expenses

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 14, 2008

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio performs a nice balancing act with her proposed budget. It invests wisely in public safety, infrastructure, parks and the necessities that sustain a community's quality of life.

But the mayor's budget holds a tight line on recurring costs, especially personnel costs, since local governments can no longer count on the hefty increases in property tax revenues they'd enjoyed for years.
City revenues are down for a number of reasons. The inflated real-estate market has come back to earth, the Legislature mandated tax cuts and this year voters approved a constitutional amendment that doubles the homestead exemption.

In the last two years Tampa has seen recurring property-tax revenues drop about $28 million. In turn, Iorio has reduced the size of government - eliminating 382 positions over the last two years - and improved efficiency with ongoing reviews of city operations.

The mayor stresses that the people whose jobs were lost did important work. Their loss may not be readily apparent to citizens, she said, but it is felt by those workers left behind.

No doubt that's true. But during these tough economic times, private businesses must do more with less and so must government. And since personnel represents 75 percent of the cost of government, the city, like all local governments, must tamp down staffing and pay levels.

Things got out of hand during the flush years when public-employee unions demanded - and usually received - raises far above those found in the private sector.

Such largess must end. Iorio is making a good start by standing firm against a demand by the firefighters' union that wages be increased up to 10 percent. The mayor proposes a 6.5 percent increase, still generous by today's standards. The union's demand is over the top.

Council members, who ultimately must approve the city's budget, should recognize the mayor is right to trim personnel costs wherever possible. Indeed, if she knew then what she knows now, Iorio says she would invest less in personnel and more in infrastructure, such as sidewalks, road resurfacing, drainage work, replacing antiquated pipelines, a police radio system and new firefighting equipment.

The $836 million budget is hardly bare-bones. It represents a 9.8 percent increase from 2008, mainly because of increases in enterprise and bond funds that are used for infrastructure improvements.

With builders looking for work, now is the time to spend money on infrastructure. Iorio says construction bids are coming in lower than they have for years, and many more companies are submitting bids. Increased competition is good news for taxpayers.

The mayor, it seems to us, has fashioned a budget that will keep the city on the move while adjusting to the new world of reduced revenues.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT