A Few Questions on the Budget

1. Why should the citizens finance merit increases during a period of economic austerity and no inflation.

2. Can you tell me if the Museum amount included in this year’s capital budget is fully financed by the nonprofit contributions or is the city financing a good part of this expenditure?

3. Is the capital budget a multi-year or a one year budget. Please show us a multi-year budget.  Small expenditures in one year (e.g., the museum design, preparation and construction) invariably lead to multi-year expenditures that are justified on the earlier smaller expenditures.

3. In the capital budget, which projects are fully financed out of donations and other sources and do not require additional borrowing or property taxes payments?

4. Is there no information on the 2008-09 budget execution? Why does the city always compare the “budget” of the prior year with the new “budget” instead of the actual budget results. We should be comparing our 2009 budget with the actual final (including estimates for the last month) execution of the 2008-09 budget?

5. Why hasn’t the Building and Zoning staff be reduced even more?  With the fall in permit fees many staff are not justified.