Winona Lake Proposes Drop In 2019 Budget
August 22, 2018 at 5:22 p.m.
Winona Lake Proposes Drop In 2019 Budget
By David [email protected]
Clerk-Treasurer Kent Adams presented the proposed 2019 budget at the Winona Lake Town Council meeting Tuesday, highlighting the overall net decrease of $193,449 from the 2018 budget.
“You’ll recall that two months back, Paige Sansome of Umbaugh & Associates … did an analysis of our yearly budget because it’s always a good idea to get some outside input to see if some things could change. She did that. The proposed budget, the bottom line, is we anticipate being able to reduce our budget some 3.54 percent, and add 3 percent salary increase for employees except clerk-treasurer, and then add an additional police officer,” he said.
Adams explained all that was possible because the town has been very cognizant of getting its budget in line over the years and because Sansome recommended a different way of basing the town’s budgets.
Previously, the town based its budgets on its expenses. “In other words, we’d take a look at what we were spending each year and then we monitored that closely so there was no overdrawn accounts. It ended up that we were actually reducing our annual budgets as enacted by $100,000. (Sansome) suggested we base the budget on revenue as opposed to expenses, so that’s what we did,” he said.
Some funds were then able to be eliminated or combined.
“Our cash reserves, they recommend 15 percent, and we are well above that,” Adams said. “As I’ve said, we’ve been underspending our budgets $100,000 a year.”
The proposed 2019 general fund is $1,302,905, down 10.33 percent from $1,452,927 in 2018. Other tax-supported funds for 2019 include the motor vehicle highway fund at $790,909, down $95,491 from 2018; local roads and streets, $109,500, up $50,500 from 2018; park and recreation, $153,530, up $94,980 from 2018; rainy day fund, $0, down $119,000 from 2018; redevelopment fund, $50,000, no change from 2018; and cumulative capital development, $163,500, up $33,500 from 2018.
Adams said the general fund was able to be reduced by $150,000 because some accounts that the town was putting money into but not using could be eliminated. MVH was reduced because some monies were transferred to the local roads and streets fund.
“And then in park and recreation, we show an increase of almost $95,000. What we did there was that we now only have one fund. We combined the two (funds) we had,” he said.
Parks Director Holly Hummitch said the parks’ budget will actually only increase $1,870 in 2019 over 2018.
Adams said the rainy day fund hadn’t been used so that was dropped to zero.
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The proposed fee-supported funds for 2019 includes $800,000 for Economic Development Income Tax fund, no change over 2018; $68,213 for riverboat fund, a decrease of $26,787 over 2018; $2,500 for the law enforcement continuing education found, no change; $200,000 for the tax increment finance fund, no change; and $1,629,196 for wastewater, an increase of 1.17 percent over the 2018 budget of $1,610,325.
The proposed total of the 2019 budget is $5,207,253, a decrease of $193,449 over 2018’s $5,463,702.
Adams said the proposed 2019 budget will be advertised Sept. 3, and then Sansome will be at the Sept. 18 council meeting for the budget review and public hearing.
“It’s positive from our standpoint,” he said.
Council members also received a letter from town marshal Joe Hawn on why the police department was asking for an additional officer. Currently, the letter says, there are seven reserve officers, but due to their work and family commitments, there are times when they are unable to assist during town events. The additional full-time officer would be able to contribute during the events where reserve officers are unavailable.
Additionally, another full-time officer would allow the police department to assign an officer for formal criminal and narcotic investigations. These type of investigations require additional time, which patrol officers cannot afford to give due to other calls for service and work schedules, the letter states.
Councilman Rick Swaim asked officer Mike Foster when would the new officer start if the position was approved. Foster replied they’d start looking in November but the officer wouldn’t be hired and sworn in until January.
Council President Bruce Shaffner asked him to further explain the reasoning behind the new officer “so everyone knows.”
“Right now we work 12-hour rotations. I basically work all the time because I handle all the investigations for the criminal and narcotics stuff. If I’m covering the road 12-hour shift, then I end up staying over or end up coming in on what should be my days off to complete those investigations so I can get them done in a timely fashion. So our hope is that by getting that additional officer, he’ll take my slot and I’ll be able to fluctuate my hours to get those investigations completed faster,” Foster explained.
He said the town’s seeing an increase in drug-related crimes and burglary and thefts. “We’re trying to devote more time to get those solved faster,” he said.
Clerk-Treasurer Kent Adams presented the proposed 2019 budget at the Winona Lake Town Council meeting Tuesday, highlighting the overall net decrease of $193,449 from the 2018 budget.
“You’ll recall that two months back, Paige Sansome of Umbaugh & Associates … did an analysis of our yearly budget because it’s always a good idea to get some outside input to see if some things could change. She did that. The proposed budget, the bottom line, is we anticipate being able to reduce our budget some 3.54 percent, and add 3 percent salary increase for employees except clerk-treasurer, and then add an additional police officer,” he said.
Adams explained all that was possible because the town has been very cognizant of getting its budget in line over the years and because Sansome recommended a different way of basing the town’s budgets.
Previously, the town based its budgets on its expenses. “In other words, we’d take a look at what we were spending each year and then we monitored that closely so there was no overdrawn accounts. It ended up that we were actually reducing our annual budgets as enacted by $100,000. (Sansome) suggested we base the budget on revenue as opposed to expenses, so that’s what we did,” he said.
Some funds were then able to be eliminated or combined.
“Our cash reserves, they recommend 15 percent, and we are well above that,” Adams said. “As I’ve said, we’ve been underspending our budgets $100,000 a year.”
The proposed 2019 general fund is $1,302,905, down 10.33 percent from $1,452,927 in 2018. Other tax-supported funds for 2019 include the motor vehicle highway fund at $790,909, down $95,491 from 2018; local roads and streets, $109,500, up $50,500 from 2018; park and recreation, $153,530, up $94,980 from 2018; rainy day fund, $0, down $119,000 from 2018; redevelopment fund, $50,000, no change from 2018; and cumulative capital development, $163,500, up $33,500 from 2018.
Adams said the general fund was able to be reduced by $150,000 because some accounts that the town was putting money into but not using could be eliminated. MVH was reduced because some monies were transferred to the local roads and streets fund.
“And then in park and recreation, we show an increase of almost $95,000. What we did there was that we now only have one fund. We combined the two (funds) we had,” he said.
Parks Director Holly Hummitch said the parks’ budget will actually only increase $1,870 in 2019 over 2018.
Adams said the rainy day fund hadn’t been used so that was dropped to zero.
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The proposed fee-supported funds for 2019 includes $800,000 for Economic Development Income Tax fund, no change over 2018; $68,213 for riverboat fund, a decrease of $26,787 over 2018; $2,500 for the law enforcement continuing education found, no change; $200,000 for the tax increment finance fund, no change; and $1,629,196 for wastewater, an increase of 1.17 percent over the 2018 budget of $1,610,325.
The proposed total of the 2019 budget is $5,207,253, a decrease of $193,449 over 2018’s $5,463,702.
Adams said the proposed 2019 budget will be advertised Sept. 3, and then Sansome will be at the Sept. 18 council meeting for the budget review and public hearing.
“It’s positive from our standpoint,” he said.
Council members also received a letter from town marshal Joe Hawn on why the police department was asking for an additional officer. Currently, the letter says, there are seven reserve officers, but due to their work and family commitments, there are times when they are unable to assist during town events. The additional full-time officer would be able to contribute during the events where reserve officers are unavailable.
Additionally, another full-time officer would allow the police department to assign an officer for formal criminal and narcotic investigations. These type of investigations require additional time, which patrol officers cannot afford to give due to other calls for service and work schedules, the letter states.
Councilman Rick Swaim asked officer Mike Foster when would the new officer start if the position was approved. Foster replied they’d start looking in November but the officer wouldn’t be hired and sworn in until January.
Council President Bruce Shaffner asked him to further explain the reasoning behind the new officer “so everyone knows.”
“Right now we work 12-hour rotations. I basically work all the time because I handle all the investigations for the criminal and narcotics stuff. If I’m covering the road 12-hour shift, then I end up staying over or end up coming in on what should be my days off to complete those investigations so I can get them done in a timely fashion. So our hope is that by getting that additional officer, he’ll take my slot and I’ll be able to fluctuate my hours to get those investigations completed faster,” Foster explained.
He said the town’s seeing an increase in drug-related crimes and burglary and thefts. “We’re trying to devote more time to get those solved faster,” he said.
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