BURLINGTON — The Burlington City Council unanimously passed next fiscal year’s budget Monday night, but that does not mean the work is over.
Managing the city’s nearly $200 million in total expenditures will not be easy, Mayor Miro Weinberger said at the meeting.
After facing a $1.5 million General Fund budget gap, the general mission of this budget was to begin looking under every rock in the city for opportunities to save money and invest in the city’s future, Weinberger said.
“Successful implementation of the FY14 Budget will maintain services, make key investments in the future, continue the City’s efforts to improve its finances, and avoid further general City tax increases beyond the initiatives approved by the voters last fall,” he stated in a news release.
The budget is that it will maintain, expand and innovate the city’s current services, Weinberger stated.
That includes adding an unprecedented level of staff to the police department, a new centralized document management system for the City Attorney’s Office, hour changes to the Fletcher Free Library and other maintenance to the city’s facilities, for example.
The budget also aims to increase the liquidity and financial performance of the city by achieving an operating surplus of $300,000, a plan to identify expenditure savings and other non-property tax revenue sources by $500,000 throughout the summer, and reserving money for unanticipated events.
The budget will continue to make capital investments throughout the city. This includes ambulance replacements, energy efficiency investments, stormwater infrastructure, city technology upgrades, bike path maintenance and the possible development of the waterfront, for example.
The council also passed a resolution for a centralized system for the city’s purchases. This will enable all departments to coordinate their purchases, which will save money and reduce possible suspicions of fraud.
Karen Paul, I-Ward 6, who co-sponsored the resolution, said it is one step toward financial efficiency and securing the trust of taxpayers.
