BV Officials
Face Budget Challenges
As they begin the process of formulating a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, members of Buena Vista’s budget and finance committee have a huge gap to close.
Steve Bolster, the city’s director of finance, presented to the committee a draft budget Monday that shows a gap between requested expenditures and projected revenues of $1.9 million.
State funding is unknown at this point because the General Assembly adjourned over the weekend without approving a budget. State lawmakers won’t finalize a budget until they reconvene next month for their veto session.
At this early juncture, the preliminary budget document Bolster unveiled Monday estimates projected revenues at $17,043,334, which is $1,903,599 less than requested expenditures of $18,946,933.
Bolster reported that health care premiums are continuing to skyrocket, one year after they rose 12 percent. This year’s projected rise is 14.6 percent, or about $150,000. He noted that Buena Vista is not alone in this category – Rockbridge County’s health care premiums are slated to go up by 16 percent and Lexington’s by 25 percent.
Buena Vista’s composite index went up from .18 to .20, which is expected to translate into the city getting $265,000 less in state assistance for the schools.
Emergency services departments are seeking significantly higher local funding for next year. The fire department is asking for $39,625 more, the rescue squad request is up by $95,875 and the police department is seeking an increase of $135,515.
Operational costs charged to Buena Vista for the Rockbridge Regional Jail would climb by $30,938 and for the regional 911 dispatching center by $74,056. Much more significant, however, are costs for planned capital expenditures by each of these regional entities. Architectural and engineering costs to Buena Vista for a new jail would be $386,048 and for a new 911 radio system would be $262,650.
No pay raises for city employees have been calculated into the budget document presented. The document does include 2 percent cost of living increases and 2 percent bonuses for state constitutional officers and their employees, as indicated by the state compensation board.
New employee positions sought in the budget document include a full-time employee in the office of community development, a part-time person in human resources and elevation from part-time to full-time for a couple of employees in street maintenance.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do to get to a balanced budget,” Bolster said to members of the budget and finance committee. “Digest this information and come back next week and see what changes we can make.”
The choices facing the committee will be to cut costs by reducing services or to raise taxes and/or fees. Bolster said a penny on the city’s 98 cents per $100 value real estate tax rate is equal to $42,860.
The committee is to meet again this Monday, March 23, at 4 p.m.
