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WILKES-BARRE — Five of the six revenue sources Mayor Tony George wants to shrink in his amended budget brought in more money than expected last year, but he says it’s this year he’s concerned about.
George identified them for cuts because of what he saw as inflated projections in the final $51.5 million balanced budget prepared by former Mayor Tom Leighton.
“I could project anything,” he said Monday.
The line item revenue sources will stay in the budget but at lower projections in order to avoid a multi-million dollar deficit and layoffs envisioned by the mayor in a worst-case scenario.
George said he must publicly advertise the proposed amendments in the newspapers, hold a public meeting and put the changes to council for a vote by Feb. 15.
“It’s got to be posted a week,” he said.
Once that’s done, George said he would like to have it come before council at its Feb. 11 meeting, in time to meet the deadline set in the city charter.
Three of the line items were for the collection of overdue fees and fines:
• Delinquent Business Privilege Tax, $350,000
• Delinquent Recycling Fees, $100,000
• Delinquent Magistrate Fines, $250,000
But despite not a dollar budgeted for any of them in 2015, the city collected $30,967 for the Delinquent Business Privilege Tax and $34,813 for Delinquent Recycling Fees, based on a review of the December 2015 financial report from the mayor’s office.
George proposed the following reductions:
• Delinquent Business Privilege Tax, $100,00
• Delinquent Recycling Fees, $50,000
• Delinquent Magistrate Fines, $0.
Three other revenue sources were for taxes and permits:
• Sale of city property, $1 million
• Earned Income Tax, $12.7 million
• Building permits, $1.1 million
However, last year they exceeded their budgeted amounts. The city budgeted $400,000 for the sale of property and brought in $404,025; $11.87 million for Earned Income Tax and collected $12.6 million; and $600,000 for building permits and collected $630,644.
The proposed reductions in George’s amended budget were:
• Sale of city property, $500,000
• Earned Income Tax, $12.5 million
• Building permits, $600,000.
The planned $28 million hotel/conference center downtown would cover the sale of city property revenue line item. The city finalized sale agreements with the developer Sphere International Corp. of Mumbai, India, last month. Two privately owned properties still have to be sold.
“I met with (the developer) last week. They’re still trying to buy those two properties,” George said.
Apart from the revenues, George increased the amount the city anticipates paying for repairs to the sanitary sewer system, bumping up the budgeted expense to $400,000 from $300,000. Last year, the city budgeted $200,000 and paid $290,645, according to the December financial report.
The mayor’s cuts totaled $1.8 million and when added to another $1.8 million for unanticipated repairs to the police station.
“The changes that I propose would keep the city in line with historical data,” he said in a press release last week announcing his cuts. “These numbers combined with the $1.8 million 2015 deficit total roughly $3.65 million shortfall in the 2106 budget.”
Absent approval by council, George said he would be forced to lay off firefighters, the only unionized city employees that do not have a minimum manning clause in their contract.
Greg Freitas, vice president of the city fire fighters’ union, said the mayor was mistaken and all four city unions could face layoffs. Freitas said none of them can tell the city how many to employ, but for public safety the fire fighters provided a number for each fire apparatus.
“How the city decides to use the people they have it has to be what the contract says,” Freitas said.
Though he would not like to see any city employee lose their job, “I just think the fire department is the last place you want to lay off people,” he said.