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<br />percent increase in pay for firefighters at a cost of over $500,000.00, or an additional five cents in
<br />ad valorem taxes. The police (who could have participated in a similar referendum but have not),
<br />the emergency medical service employees, and the other employees of the city will not benefit at all
<br />ifthis measure passes. Indeed, it is likely that there will be unpleasant repercussions for other
<br />departments. Because of the uncertainty of the outcome of this election, I have taken the
<br />unprecedented step of presenting a budget with a tax increase of .19927 cents, almost twenty cents,
<br />which includes the five cents necessary to accommodate the firefighter's pay referendum should it
<br />succeed, in order to provide an opportunity to adjust revenues and expenditures in a process that
<br />gives Council the greatest latitude in their decision-making. Obviously, should the referendum be
<br />defeated, the ad valorem rate can be lowered by at least five cents.
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<br />It should be noted that, due to the obvious funding limitations, the requests submitted by department
<br />heads in April and May for additional employees, additional pay, additional certification pay and
<br />incentive pay, re-classification, and rank re-structuring were completely omitted, with the exception
<br />of the proposed cost of living increase. Due to our economic situation, these recommendations were
<br />not explored in depth. Careful reading of the proposed expenditures will reveal that most capital
<br />spending in the two major funds, the General Fund and the Water and Sewer Fund, has been
<br />omitted, with the exception of those capital expenditures for which the source of revenue is from
<br />grants.
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<br />The city staff with encouragement from the City Council has diligently and successfully pursued
<br />grant funding to meet a variety of needs in the community. Capital outlay included in the total
<br />budget of$39,441,176.00 is $2,573,667.00 for all funds. The operating budget of the General Fund
<br />totals $22,403,170.00. Of this amount, capital expenditure in the General Fund is $2,317,667.00
<br />and is $241,000.00 for the Water and Sewer Fund. There is $5,000.00 of capital expenditure in the
<br />Health Fund and $10,000.00 of capital expenditure in the Economic Development Fund. Projects
<br />funded by grants include the Santa Fe / Frisco Depot renovation funded by the Texas Department of
<br />Transportation, two vehicles for the Police department funded by the Local Law Enforcement Block
<br />Grant, a trail for Lake Crook Park funded by Texas Parks and Wildlife, the Downtown Streetscape
<br />improvements funded by the Texas Department of Transportation, the Sports Complex funded by
<br />Texas Parks and Wildlife, improvements to drainage and taxi lanes at Cox Field Airport to be
<br />funded by Texas Department of Transportation - Aviation Division, and telecommunications
<br />infrastructure improvements for the community to be funded by a State of Texas
<br />Telecommunications Infrastructure Grant.
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<br />Expenditures in the Water and Sewer Fund as proposed total $11,635,835.00, which includes
<br />$3,815,250.00 for debt service. The operating budget for the Water and Sewer Fund is
<br />$7,820,585.00, which includes only $241,000.00 in capital expenditures. As previously noted,
<br />revenues to the Water and Sewer Fund from the sale of water and the charges for sewer service are
<br />currently insufficient to maintain the service and provide the required reserves. The cause of the
<br />insufficient revenues is the decreased usage by the residential customers and large industry. The
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