Wasilla budget looks healthy

May 24, 2005

DARRELL L. BREESE/Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA - After months of review with department heads, Wasilla Mayor Dianne M. Keller has concluded that the city's budget for 2005-06 appears to be in good shape.

The total proposed 2005-06 budget, including debt service, is $14,643,739, and provides for an increase in services at a 1.14-percent decrease in total expenditures from the fiscal year 2005 budget.

City budget officials estimate $11,056,395 in expenditures for 2005-06, which is $127,590 less than the $11,183,985 operating budget for the current fiscal year.

"It's the mission of the City of Wasilla to provide optimum service levels to the public as cost-effectively as possible," Keller wrote in her budget summary. "As the mayor I can say that we (city officials) are proud of this budget. It keeps with the commitment to keep government small while still providing the service to ensure a stable and thriving economy, promote a safe environment and the quality of life people have grown accustomed to."

This year's proposed budget reflects a reduction in property taxes to a low rate of 0.3 mills, continuing a 10-year trend that has seen the city of Wasilla reduce its portion of the property-tax bill of home owners by 83 percent since 1995. This year's reduction in the mill rate will result in an estimated savings of $1.1 million to the city's property owners.

"We built the budget on the zero-base budgeting process," Ted Leonard, Wasilla's finance director, said. "The process requires department heads to justify all expenses and how the spending will meet the level of services that the citizens are requesting."

Funding for public safety also represents the largest increase over the current budget.

Climbing nearly 18 percent, the $4.4 million requested marks a $666,401 spike in the budget.

"Public works, economic development and the culture and recreation departments also have more funds allotted," Leonard said. "Even with all those increases we are still coming in with a lower budget than last year. We achieved our ultimate goal with this budget in restraining the growth of general government, while increasing services."

Belt-tightening efforts by the administration, the city council and limiting non-departmental expenditures resulted in nearly $1.2 million in savings from the 2005 budget.

Public safety accounts for 37 percent of the total proposed budget. The breakdown of the remaining funds is as follows: City council $390,173 (4 percent), general government $1.3 million (12 percent), economic development $188,887 (2 percent), cultural services and recreation $729,854 (7 percent), public works $1.95 million (18 percent) and nondepartmental expenses $170,000 (2 percent).

The city's sales tax continues to be the primary source of revenue, accounting for more than 78 percent of the predicted $11.1 million in 2005-06 revenues, bringing in $8.7 million.

Wasilla residents will pay $6,000 less in property taxes thanks to the low mill rate. User fees and charges account for the second-largest piece of the city's revenue pie, with an estimated $1.15 million anticipated.

Keller praised the efforts of the various city departments and employees who worked hard to allow the city to meet the heavy demand for quality services at the same time the state of Alaska terminated the state revenue-sharing program.

"Individual departments were able to come up with creative solutions to satisfy the needs of their departments and the people of Wasilla," Keller said. "They did all that while holding the line on expenses and thus keeping the city of Wasilla from having to raise the property tax mill rate."

Darrell Breese may be reached at 352-2267 or darrell

.breese@frontiersman.com.