| Future comes one day at a time |
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By: MICHELLE WILLARD, mwillard@murfreesboropost.com
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Posted: Sunday, May 22, 2011 6:49 am
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Officials with the City of Murfreesboro are very optimistic about the economic future.
They are so optimistic, City Manager Rob Lyons is projecting a $2.2 million increase in sales tax revenue in fiscal year 2012 over FY2011.
This projected increase is part of the reason the city won’t see a property tax rate increase for the 13th straight year and why city employees will see their first raise in three years.
“We believe our future remains exciting and we are optimistic the economy is rebounding,” City Manager Rob Lyons said.
“Housing starts, sales tax collections and job growth are on the rise,” he continued. “We believe this spending plan should provide for the city as we face our future one day at a time.”
The city’s property tax rate will remain at $1.2703 per $100 of assessed value, which makes up a projected $35.6 million of the city’s budget. This comes in at $717,000 over FY 2011.
Overall, the city has an additional $4.57 million to spend in FY 2012 than it did this year because of a combination of rising sales tax revenue, an increase in state-shared revenue thanks to the 2010 census and some savvy budget maneuvers.
In all the city’s proposed budget totals $103,941,242, a 4 percent, or $4.84 million, increase over this year.
Lyons said the new money will go to the Murfreesboro City Council’s goals of public safety, neighborhoods, customer service, financial stability and economic growth.
Raises and new jobs
The city will help in the financial health of its employees by giving them their first raise in three years.
Full-time city employees will see a 3.5 percent increase and part-time employees will see a $0.25 per hour raise.
“One of the top goals in this budget was to recognize the work of our city employee and adjust employee pay in a positive manner,” Lyons said.
In addition to the pay raise, employees will also see a bump in longevity pay.
The city pays employees an annual bonus that equals $60 per year of service. These bonuses were frozen in 2009, but the proposed budget will make up for that loss by adding an extra $60 to “catch up.”
The total cost of the raises and bonuses equals $1,360,000.
The budget also increases the starting pay of new employees and raises the amount at which current salaried employees “top out.”
The budget also creates a new Information Technology Department, which will integrate various technology personnel that are scattered currently across different departments.
“A unified management structure will result in economies of scale and better coordinate resources,” Lyons said.
This new department will only require one new position, an information technology director, who will new promoted from within.
VA Golf Course
The most shocking piece of the FY2012 budget is the proposed closure of the VA Golf Course.
For the last 24 years, the city of Murfreesboro has managed the daily operations at the 9-hole golf course, but the arrangement will likely end this year because a long-term agreement can’t be hashed out with the federal government, who owns the land. It also didn’t help that the number of rounds played at the course was down 12 percent in FY2010.
“No one wanted to shut it down,” explained City Councilman Shane McFarland, who also serves on the Murfreesboro Golf Commission. “But we were also getting ready to spend significant amounts of money for mower replacements and capital outlay on the course.”
But the city doesn’t want to invest in improving the course without any assurance that it will continue to run the facility in the future.
“We have tried over and over to work out a long-term agreement,” Lyons said. But the city couldn’t reach an agreement to buy the course and some additional land from the Veteran’s Administration.
McFarland said the city council would rather see that money go to opening a new park in western Murfreesboro.
Mostly senior citizens, children and beginning golfers play the affordable course. The city will offer new programs and clinics for these golfers at the Old Fort Golf Course with the $275,000 saved from closing the VA Golf Course.
Safe, livable neighborhoods
Murfreesboro Police Department is the largest part of the city’s annual budget.
Totaling nearly $23 million, MPD will see a $566,068 budget increase in FY2012.
The extra money will be used to fund three new supervisors and call station in the communications division, five new police cars and four new vehicles for detectives, as well as funding on-going efforts in traffic control and gang eradication.
“Their budget also includes funding for a remodel of headquarters and an update of the transponder boxes at all station and dispatch,” Lyons said.
Also budgeted for renovations are several parks and recreation properties, including Kids Castle, the McFadden Community Center, Oaklands Park and Stones River Greenway.
The greenway expansion to Barfield Crescent Park will also begin in the next fiscal year.
The new budget will go into effect July 1. Meanwhile the city council will continue discussing the proposed budget for the next few weeks, including two meetings Thursday and Friday. |
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