Shoreline City Council adopts 2011 budget

From the City Manager's Office

On November 22 the City Council adopted the 2011 Budget. The budget consists of two major parts: the $36 million operations budget and the $28.2 million capital budget. The 2011 budget is $26.5 million or 28% less than the 2010 budget. The decline is largely linked to the decrease in the City’s capital budget. Major projects such as city hall, park bond improvements, and Aurora improvements from 165th to 185th were included in the 2010 budget and will either be completed or a substantial amount of expenditures will have occurred in 2010.

The 2011 operations budget net of one-time accounting transfers has decreased by 1 percent compared to the 2010 budget, while the City continues to experience increases in police and jail costs, health insurance premiums, and state mandated retirement costs.

The cost to fund day-to-day City services, in inflation adjusted dollars, is approximately $461 per resident, nearly 10 percent lower than in 2000. The City has had to do more with less given that inflation has grown 28% since 2000.

In the recent election Shoreline voters approved Proposition 1 by 56%. This approval established a tax rate of $1.48 per 1,000 of assessed valuation for 2011, which remains below the legal limit of $1.60.

The City also has an excess levy to repay the general obligation bonds that were approved by the voters in May 2006 (70% approval) for open space acquisition and park improvements. The total general obligation bond levy for 2011 is $1.7 million, resulting in an estimated levy rate of $0.26 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

Although Proposition 1 addresses the City’s structural revenue issues over the next six years, the City anticipates continued recessionary revenue declines for 2012 and 2013. While these projections are related to future budgets, the City Council believed it was prudent to capture savings in the 2011 budget to minimize the forecasted short-term gaps. As a result, the Council made additional line-item reductions and eliminated a staff position for a total savings of approximately $145,000. Likewise, for the second year in a row, the City Council did not include a cost of living adjustment for City staff for 2011.

For more information about the 2011 Budget, visit the City’s website or contact Finance Director Debbie Tarry at (206) 801-2301.