That is the reaction of Mayor Colleen Seng to the five-year budget forecast presented to the City Council yesterday. Inspiring.
She is right, though. Lincoln is in trouble. The city projects an $8.7 million budget shortfall next year, the largest ever in both absolute dollars and as a proportion of the budget. Next year's budget is projected at $139.3 million, a nearly 12% jump over the previous year. The gap is equivalent to 6.25% of the projected budget.
Property taxes are an obvious candidate as a funding source. As the Lincoln Journal Star noted today, "Property taxes fund 28 percent of the budget, and over the past decade the city property tax rate has been reduced 42 percent, from 51 cents per $100 of assessed value in 1991 to 29.5 cents now." During the same period state sales taxes increased .5%, equivalent to 50 cents per $100 of sales, in order to cover state budget shortfalls. Although it is somewhat unfair to mix state and local tax rates in a conversation like this, the overall tax burden on individuals is still an important part of any revenue-raising discussion.
As Councilman Glenn Friendt noted, "Eventually the piper has to be paid, and we're at that point." The City Council has a long history of putting off or skirting difficult decisions. The most notable act of leadership they have demonstrated recently was voting to enact an almost-total smoking ban in workplaces and public areas -- and even that issue was filled with frequent demonstrations of indecision and cowardice from the Council. The Journal Star notes that "[Friendt] said the council is under tremendous pressure to make short-sighted fixes, kowtow to special interest groups and live up to political pronouncements
Comments
See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.
No comments yet! Be the first.
Share your thoughts with the community.
Commenting is no longer permitted on this post.