Yes the title is just a tad snarky. I, along with others, have been trying to get a complete and true picture of the financial health of the City for years and nothing that is talked makes any sense. NOTHING! Numbers change, figures change, past budgets change. Our campaigns have said we have a 36 million dollar budget this year. Our campaigns have said it is 8 million dollars more than 2012 and the Mayor decided we need to be taken to task, that there is misinformation being spread. Our campaigns have said the City has put quality of life issues off, has failed to get things done in a timely manner. Read for your selves! Determine the truth for yourselves.
In 2010 we had a reassessment and housing values overall dropped and the City tried to implement the “revenue neutral” millage rate increase. In other words, those with depressed property values would pay pretty much the same amount and those that had an increase would pay more and the City would retain the same revenue. Mayor Scoville and Council member Barber predicted doom and gloom. The City was going to lose $400,000 a year until the next reassessment. This has been thrown up to the City Council members past and present. The argument was used to garner a 7 mils property tax increase just this year.
Quote from minutes of June 2nd 2015:
“Mayor Scoville stated five years ago there was a reassessment and property values decreased substantially. Georgetown County and the School Board raised their rates; there was no gain or loss of income. Council determined not to raise the millage rate to zero out the income, which resulted in a loss of $400,000 a year since then. That is $2 million the City would have had and it is catching up with us. He said good responsible financial stewardship requires Council to restore the tax base.”
In this same meeting Debra Bivens, Director of Finance, states the City has been using money from the Fund Balance or General Fund to “balance” the budget. “Mrs. Bivens stated the money lost over the last five years totaled $2 million. Positions, through attrition in most cases, were reduced as well as using fund balance. If we continue not to approve a revenue neutral millage increase as a result of reassessment, we will continue to use the fund balance, eventually depleting the reserves.”
Ms. Bivens also says after the City moved 3.3 Million from the General Fund that it leaves 3.3 Million in that fund of which 1.5 Million is required by law to be maintained for disasters and emergencies. In 2013 when the Mayoral race was up for a vote and candidate Scoville was facing questions of this fund balance he stated there was not 19 million as has been mentioned but 10.6 Million and the City was in good shape financially. My question: Where has the money gone if the numbers below are accurate?
In two years’ time we are down to 6.6 million? And after the June budget was approved, we are down to 3.3 Million and our Mayor sends an email out after the debate challenging our mathematics skills. Perhaps this is Common Core or some new form of math that is beyond the comprehension of us. Below is the text of Scoville’s email in its entirety.
“There has been a lot of misinformation about the city budget put out by some candidates in the city council campaign. This is the correct information.
Budget Actual
- 2010 $33,097,506 $31,657,233
- 2011 $32,484,965 $30,815,249
- 2012 $30,892,126 $28,422,755
- 2013 $32,031,484 $28,026,318
- 2014 $31,071,960 $30,149,050
- 2015 $36,526,744 $27,400,531**
- 2016 $36,415,854
**Please note that the following capital projects totaling $8,000,000 were not completed in FY2015 and were either DELETED or DELAYED until FY2016:
- Foundation Repair to City Hall & Fire Station I $ 900,000
- Fire Station II $ 1,500,000
- Broad Street $ 300,000
- Bicycle & Pedestrian Trail $ 800,000
- CNG Fuel Center $ 200,000
- Peak Shaving Generation $ 2,600,000
- Highway 17/701/521Utility Relocation $ 450,000
- Park Improvements $ 300,000
- Neighborhood Infrastructure $ 250,000
- Wastewater Treatment Plant $ 700.000
There is no deficit. All capital improvements will be paid by a bond or from the city’s savings.
Please note the actual spending for the 2014/15 fiscal year was 4 million dollars less than in 2010.”
If anyone wishes to view the actual email please contact me leeforcitycouncil@outlook.com and I will forward you a copy minus the numerous people to whom it was sent. A quick approximation shows 18.4 million under budget for the 6 years shown. Not a 2 Million dollar loss. Perhaps the Mayor would care to explain his system of addition and subtraction to us. I do not understand it. I do not see the justification for using a doomsday scenario to enact a 7mils property tax increase across the board. Unless this email was meant as a political ploy.
The simple truth is the City takes in about 28 Million a year in revenue. Anything over that has to come from reserves. So how long do we continue to spend more than we make? We have to curb the costs of a City with a declining population. We cannot afford to take more from our citizens and provide less. Budgeting 300,000 for parks, 800,000 for a bicycle trail and only 250,000 for infrastructure upgrades last year shows a lack of prioritizing.
First he implicated Richard Powers, Tom Winslow and me, Lee Padgett, in a voter suppression scheme and now he challenges our ability to apply reason concerning the budget. If we could get a true and honest financial health statement from him then the voters could actually realize what he is doing. Manipulating the people to retain power, or more precisely, using fear to encourage people to vote his way.
Under our system of Government —Mayor/Council–the Mayor is “where the buck stops”. He is in charge of the budget. He dictates it. In the game of cat and mouse I would hand the prize to Debra Bivens, she has been running the numbers of this City long enough to know the ins and outs. Instead of Council acting as adults and cutting from the budget to ensure revenues equal expenditures they chose the easy route-just spend, we can raise taxes. The Mayor was wrong–Good financial stewardship would not be to raise the tax base, rather it would be to reduce unnecessary spending, search out waste and eliminate it from the budget.
Please vote November 3rd. Vote for Tom Winslow, Richard Powers and Lee Padgett. We need your votes to put an end to the type of politics Scoville is engaging in. To get this City on a track to financial health and to unite us all in the future and not play the politics of division anymore. And then work to change the system of Government we operate under so a professional is making the day to day decisions “BUDGET and all” and this professional will be free of political expediency. Then we shall have a true and accurate accounting of the financial state of the City.
Vote November 3rd, 2015 