adminFeb. 16, 2011
“This is a very bare bones budget,” Kansas City Interim Manager Troy Schulte said of Kansas City’s proposed $1.24 million budget for fiscal year 2011-2012.
Schulte addressed the crowd of more than 50 people Feb. 12 at the Greg/Klice Community Center during a public budget hearing. Members of the city’s Finance and Audit Committee also attended.
Schulte said the city is asking its employees to sacrifice again by enduring wage freezes for a third year in a row.
In addition, the city has also implemented a hiring freeze.
The upcoming budget presents a lot of “uncertainty,” he said, due to the sluggish economy and the possible elimination of Kansas City’s earnings tax. Voters will decide the tax’s fate on April 5.
“Unlike other cities, we’ve done our cutting and now we’re waiting for our economy to recover,” he said.
Once the economy does recover, the city plans to “get back to providing improved services with the resources and efforts we do have,” he said.
Following his budget update, the meeting was turned over to the citizens who signed up to voice their opinions.
Citizens represented their neighborhood organizations, community centers, Keep Kansas City Beautiful, Bridging the Gap, among others.
A common theme attendees voiced was to maintain funding for Keep Kansas City Beautiful, Bridging the Gap, the Green Impact Zone and housing improvement programs like the dangerous building program, paint program and minor home repair program.
Bobbie Baker Hughes, president of the Northeast Chamber of Commerce, urged the commission to support and fund the Health, Education, Labor and Public Safety program (HELP).
“We feel strongly that the (HELP) committee, as well as the chamber, should be funded for some community-based growth in Historic Northeast,” Hughes said. “It is our dream for Independence Avenue to become an international market place… I’m here to ask for support for the Northeast Chamber as well as the commercial improvement district that we hope to implement on Independence Avenue.”
Following citizens’ comments, members of the Finance and Audit Committee addressed the audience.
“The budget is a process,” committee member Beth Godstein said. “We hear you and sometimes it takes several years to get something done.
“If the budget’s not perfect this year, hopefully it will get even better next year.”
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