Council lauds budget efforts by city staffers

Kalispell's city budget numbers have improved enough in the past nine months to earn kudos for the city staff at a council work session Monday night.

Council member Hank Olson said his hat was off to the city department heads and Interim City Manager Myrt Webb, who worked together to create a quarter-million-dollar cash reserve in the general fund instead of the feared $130,000.

"That came out in blood those were big cuts," Olson said as he commended the staff. "I'm really proud of you guys for what you've done. And the good thing is, you maintained services."

Council member Jim Atkinson said "the city staff has done a Herculean job of reducing the city budget."

Finance Director Amy Robertson explained the steps that brought the city from a grim spot last November - Olson called the city "broke" back then - to a position of having a $226,000 reserve carryover as of June 30. She projects that will stay steady through the end of June 2010 when the next fiscal year ends.

Reserves have improved markedly but still are small for a city this size, she said.

"It's not great, but it's really not as bad as we thought it might be," Robertson told the council.

When the city's 2009-10 preliminary budget was marched out for the final time at its July 20 hearing, the bottom line stood at $45,768,176.

But adjustments increased that by just under $1 million - to $46,755,825. The lion's share of that is not new money, Robertson pointed out.

In her budget memo to the council, she explained that the Fire Grants budget, for example, carries over a $915,879 grant for a new computer-aided dispatch system for the new emergency 911 center. It is unspent money that was earmarked for the fiscal year ended June 30.

Adjustments made in the general fund showed some movement in tax collections - down $80,000 from what was billed but with those revenues generally expected to come in later - and showing the result of belt-tightening in just about every city department.

Tax estimates will be adjusted at the end of August when the state Department of Revenue provides final tax values. After that time, probably in early September, Robertson will firm up the final numbers and the council will vote on a final budget.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com