City postponing projects, not cutting budget 'fat'

Unlike a private business that suffers decreased demand during economic hard times, government does not experience a decrease in the demand for its services. City services such as police, fire, water, sewer, park maintenance, and other services at a minimum remain constant. Often, city services experience an increase in demand when a community is experiencing economic stress. It the responsibility of the mayor to make sure that services continue to be provided at the highest-level possible.

That is why I have asked city department heads to carefully assess their budgets to identify projects that could be postponed or eliminated without harming their ability to deliver services that the citizens have come to depend upon. The city council rigorously cut the fat out of the budget before they passed it. Each capital project was reviewed, the need for new projects analyzed, the need for staff training assessed, and there were even cuts in office supplies as small as $50. The majority set the budget that they thought would enable the city to continue to provide the level of services our community has come to expect. “Fat” is not being cut because there is very little of it in the budget — certainly not $223,000.

Now an obvious question is why cut now? Why should I enforce cuts based on a projection rather than waiting to see if no cut or a greater cut is needed?  Why not wait till the revenue shortfall actually has occurred?  Here is the simple reason. Let’s say there is a 90 percent chance that you will need to come up with $5,000 by the end of the year. You could wait until the last month of the year and be forced to take the entire $5,000 out of your December paycheck if the 90 percent chance came to fruition. Or you could plan ahead and take out $1,000 per month for 5 months. Which strategy do you feel would be less damaging?

Some cities have not acted proactively and have had to deal with devastating results. Some have been forced to curtail law enforcement patrols, some have had to cut working hours to half time, some have had to cut firefighters, and others have had to let their parks deteriorate. I don’t intend to make the same mistake.

So, in closing, I want to reiterate that we are not cutting the “fat” out of the budget but are rather postponing, eliminating, or reducing the scope of programs that the City Council said they supported. I believe we can accomplish this without sacrificing the quality of services the citizens of Sandpoint have come to expect. No, I know we can accomplish this.

n Gretchen Heller is the mayor of Sandpoint.