July 15, Beaumont City Council met with City Manager Chris Boone and staff administrators to whittle away at a budget that will lead the municipality to depleted fund balance if real changes aren’t undertaken. Prior to the meeting, city officials presented their own overview of will take place through spokesperson Tracy Kennick.
“City staff will continue evaluating current and projected financial conditions while gathering feedback from the City Council to help refine the proposed budget before it is formally presented for consideration in the coming weeks,” Kennick wrote. “The goal is to ensure the final proposed budget reflects the priorities and direction of the City Council.”
At the meeting, Ward 4 Councilmember Chris Durio consistently questioned how much they could increase taxes on residences without having to ask voters to approve it. According to him, if the city had gone ahead and raised taxes last year, the city could have had another $3 million to spend how administration saw fit.
“You can go up but stay below the voter approval rate, right?” Durio suggested even after hearing from staff that the city is already planning to put an increased tax burden on homeowners simply by approving the appraisal district’s higher valuations.
Boone’s suggestions continued to reflect city communicated plans to reduce the city’s growing fund balance loss: a temporary hiring freeze for most vacant positions, streamlining Executive Office staff and reducing the use of outside consultants. Another thought brought by council included no raises for civilian staff this year. The hiring freeze and salary increase freeze would not apply to police and fire personnel covered under union contracts. According to staff, police and fire wages account for roughly 60% of the city’s expenses.
Read more in next week’s Examiner.