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Council weighs 5% cuts, vacancy holds to close roughly $1.2M general‑fund gap
Summary
Finance staff said the operating baseline shows $30M revenue vs $32M expenditures and a $1,159,000 shortfall; options discussed include holding nine vacancies (~$500K), 5% non‑personnel reductions, delaying capital, or modest levy increases.
Finance staff told council the operational picture without pass‑through items shows $30,000,000 in revenue against $32,000,000 in expenditures, leaving a gap of about $1,159,000 that must be closed to balance the general fund. "So as of right now... we're at 30,000,000 and on the expenditure side, we're at 32,000,000... we have to locate 1,159,000 to balance the general fund," staff said.
Council and staff discussed a menu of responses: (1) remove or delay hiring for several vacant positions (staff estimated approximately nine vacancies equal to about $500–650K in savings), (2) a 5% across‑the‑board reduction on non‑personnel lines (staff modeled 5% producing roughly $1.95M in some scenarios), (3) defer capital wish‑list items, or (4) modest property-tax adjustments (a staff estimate suggested a 3% levy could yield ~$300K). Several council members favored starting with a 5% reduction for non‑personnel lines and removal of nonessential wish‑list items and requested staff return updated spreadsheets showing impacts.
