Greenfield's 2012 Budget Finalized with Little Opposition

With little opposition voiced by residents, the City of Greenfield’s annual budget hearing was relatively smooth sailing.

And with only a few minor tweaks and the addition of a few footnotes added to the mix, the budget proposed by Mayor Michael Neitzke last month was passed, 4-1, by the Common Council on Tuesday at .

The city’s 2012 operating budget will be $23,715,134, up 2.78 percent from last year, and includes a 2.15 percent property tax increase. The tax rate of $7.21 per $1,000 of assessed value equates to $34 more per year for a property owner with a home assessed at $200,000.

Only three residents spoke at the hearing, and only one of them was opposed to budget, specifically the and a chief cause for the tax hike. Also in opposition was Alderman Thomas Pietrowski, who voted against the budget.

“I’m plain and simple not going to vote for any more long-term debt,” Pietrowski said. “It’s time to stand down and reflect against spending monies on short-term projects funded by long-term debts. That’s not a good answer.”

Pietrowski made a motion that the debt amount go out to a referendum, but the motion was not supported another alderperson. Pietrowski also suggested the city implement a street utility.

The budget passed with a footnote in regards to the capital funds budget and the general obligation debt: the total debt funding may be reduced at any time at the Common Council’s discretion. Neitzke emphasized there were no specific road projects written into the budget.

“We ran the analysis asking, ‘If we borrow $10 million, what money would we save over time?’” Neitzke said. “The projects themselves have not been chosen. The Common Council has taken no action whatsoever to approve the $10 million. There are notes placed in the budget that said we may borrow no money next year or we may borrow $10 million next year. “

If the city borrows $10 million in 2012, it would likely be a 15-year loan, according to Director of Neighborhood Services Rick Sokol.

The council also approved an increase of the fund balance from $320,000 to $370,000 and an increase in the contingency from $250,000 to $300,000 to meet guidelines of the state’s Expenditure Restraint Program limit.

Some or all of 2012’s contingency dollars could be used to fund the city’s paramedic program. The remain in doubt.

While the 2012 budget wasn’t easy to put together, Alderperson Karl Kastner said he was expecting the process to be much worse.

Last year at this time, “I was scared. I was literally petrified,” he said. “The conversations we had were we’re going to lose the police department. We’re going to lose the health department. We’re going to lose the parks and rec department. We had no way of sustaining those things for our community. Without any tools, we were not going to be able to do it.”

Neitzke said before the consistent with the city’s other employees, the city was looking at a deficit.