Politics & Government

City 2012-14 Budget Draft Balanced, City Officials Say

City officials said some revenues from a voter-approved measure will have to be used to offset an expected loss of $1.6 million in revenues.

Despite a voter-approved tax that was expected to generate $2.3 million in the City of Newark’s budget, City Manager John Becker said Newark must continue being conservative with its budget.

At a May 24 budget workshop, city staff presented a draft of the city’s 2012-14 Biennial Budget to the Newark City Council.

Becker and Administrative Services Director Susie Woodstock told the five-member council that while the 3.5 percent utility users tax known as Measure U has brought in more money than expected this year, the city will have to use some of those monies to offset revenue losses that resulted from a loss of several businesses.

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City officials are anticipating a due to closures of businesses such as Newark’s Staples Fulfillment Warehouse located at 6601 Overlake Place and the departures of and the .

Still, the biennial budget draft is stable, Becker said.

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“We are presenting a budget that is balanced [with a modest surplus],” Becker said.

City officials anticipate that general fund revenues will total $32.5 million in 2012-13 and $33.7 million in 2013-14. With the addition of funds from the utility users tax and other transfers, the forecasted revenues would total $36.4 million in 2012-13 and $37.5 million in 2013-14.

The proposed operating budget for $35.9 million for 2012-13 and $37.3 million for 2013-14, Woodstock added.

Part of the dip in the 2012-13 budget is a result a planned six-month closure of the Silliman Aquatic Center during that fiscal year.

During that closure, repairs to the facility’s paint on its walls and ceilings that could impact the center’s structure if unfixed will be made, city officials have said. The cost of those repairs will be paid for through a settlement the city received.

A number of budget balancing measures remain is expected to remain in place to maintain the city’s monetary stability, Becker said.

Those measures include a flexible hiring freeze, no non-essential budget increases, no management merit increases, and capital project funding reductions.

But Becker also noted that state actions, rising pension rates and loss of businesses have created a “significant hole in our budget that has to be filled.”

Council has yet to pass its 2012-14 Biennial Budget, which will be revisited and voted on during a future meeting.


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