Bellevue’s 2016 budget forecast raises concerns

Bellevue City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee will meet a second time on the 2016 budget after Auditor Steve Smith’s figures showed a projected year-end general fund balance of $176,192, much lower than expected.

Smith said that number is simply revenue minus budgeted spending, not a prediction. “In 2015, we budgeted $5.4 million, we only actually spent $4.7 million,” he said. The fund started 2016 at $1.83 million, helped by $800,000 in back income taxes that R.I.T.A. found local businesses owed. He projects $4.56 million in revenue and about $6.2 million in spending.

The balance has been about $1.5 million for five years, and Smith would like it closer to $2 million so the city can handle emergencies on its own. After the 2013 tornado, the city spent almost $750,000 on cleanup and was reimbursed only 75 percent. The city cannot run a deficit, so it must cut spending or raise revenue. Smith said about 800 announced jobs are promising but cannot be budgeted until the taxes come in, and some expenses are “down to the bare bones.” Income tax is the main driver, about $3.7 million budgeted for 2016, while real estate tax brings the general fund only about $250,000, so a tax increase discussion has started again. He also noted more than half a million dollars in accrued leave on the books.

Earlier budget debates: the 2011 income tax vote and the performance audit. Tax collection: R.I.T.A.. More in Local News.