P.A.G.E. Posts Update on Proposed City Budget

PLAN TO ATTEND:

City of Pocatello PUBLIC HEARING for the FY24 BUDGET / FY24 FEE INCREASES – Thursday, 08/03/23, @ 6:00 p.m.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?

The FY24 budget NO longer contains an additional 1% foregone increase.

The PUBLISHED property tax (not yet final, but the final amount cannot exceed the published amount) for Fiscal Year 2024 is $33,494,285. As compared with the Fiscal Year 2023 property tax appropriation of $32,213,263, this is an increase of $1,281,022 or 3.97%. The final amount could be lowered before final budget passage based upon final new construction numbers or other last-minute reductions.

FY24 PROPOSED BUDGET: https://pocatello.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3350

FEE INCREASES (Fees are set in order to recover costs). We STRONGLY suggest the public look through this document as the public may also comment on the proposed fee schedule.

FY24 PROPOSED FEE CHANGES:

https://pocatello.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/3349

Due to an excess of over $7M in Sanitation Department “Reserves,” this department recommended and was approved to pay for the FY24 rate-study-recommended 3% increase from those excess Reserves for one year. Thus, the public WILL NOT see an increase in Sanitation fees for FY24.

Sanitation 06/13/23 Budget Presentation: https://youtu.be/RFmn2yNl6YU?t=8705

The FY24 budget includes (SUMMARY ONLY):

• 12.4% increases for the Mayor and Council
• 3.5% increases + 1 step for general employees (which is a minimum of 1.5% and up)
• CBA increases for Police (3.5% + 1 step) / Fire (3.5% + longevity)
• Police/Fire Management pay scale increases
• Variable/seasonal pay scale increases/changes
• 9.98% increase in BlueCross of Idaho city costs
• 3% O&M increases for all City departments (with some overages beyond 3%)

Other adds included in this budget:

• 12 new FT employee positions (some in Enterprise funds/paid for by fees); others supported by property taxes)
• “Branding” of the City of Pocatello ($100K)
• $150K for “Open Space Plan” (source?)
• $1M for capital improvements (projects not specified)
• Time-clock data move-to-cloud -($40,000 w/continuing additional $25K annual maintenance)
• AEDs ($15K)
• Halliwell Park improvements ($100k-Fund78 reserves)
• Zoo animal food ($27K)+ Veterinarian services ($13K)

CONCERNS:

• No long-term perspective or planning regarding maintenance needs and how these current decisions impact future budget years.
• $1M of General Fund balance (amount above 25% Reserves) was transferred into FUND 78 for capital expenditures with no specific projects identified.
• Volatile “interest income” (+$1M) budgeted as if it is “reliable” revenue for ongoing (vs. one-time) city expenditures.
• Refusal to provide an answer to our question about the source of the $7.1M in excess reserves now being reported in the General Fund Balance.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Yet again, the budget process left much room for improvement. Multiple budget agenda documents posted for public access differed significantly from those presented to Council—sometimes due to mistakes, sometimes due to last-minute changes. These inconsistencies made it difficult for both public and, at times, the Council to follow.

Additionally, the majority of online budget meeting videos do NOT display the screens of data and spreadsheets viewed by Council during decision-making. We were left to view Council staring up at a screen which we could not see unless we submitted a public record request AFTER the meeting in attempts to understand the basis for Council decisions. To add further confusion, changes were made IN BETWEEN meetings often making it difficult to confirm what was in or out of the budget and WHY.

Note: To join the conversation on this topic, go to P.A.G.E.’s Facebook page, here.