Mayor Williams and City Council President Gregory Announce a Budget Compromise for FY 2017; Funding Added for Land Bank and Housing/Neighborhood Initiatives; Four Vacant Positions Eliminated
Council’s Finance Committee will review details of the agreement today at 5 p.m.; The compromise could go to the full Council on Thursday for a vote
Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams and City Council President Theo Gregory today announced a Fiscal Year 2017 budget compromise. The proposal will be vetted by the Council’s Finance Committee today at 5 p.m. and is scheduled to be voted on Thursday by the full 13-member City Council.
The $154 million budget is $613,000 lower than the budget proposed by Mayor Williams in March. The compromise reduces overall staffing by a net of four vacant positions and authorizes a transfer from the Unassigned Fund Balance of $1.5 million for the City’s Housing Strategic Fund which will be used to support the Land Bank and other housing related projects in neighborhoods. The new proposal also adds $100,000 for management efficiency studies which will compliment management studies for the Finance and Public Works departments that will be conducted by the City’s Office of Management and Budget. The purpose of the studies is to improve government services and efficiency.
The additional funding needed to balance the budget will come from a combination of the savings from the elimination of vacant positions, a reduction in funding for IT consultants and a newly negotiated agreement that will reduce costs within the City’s prescription drug program. The new budget, which would take effect on July 1, 2016, does not require an increase in property taxes or in water or sewer fees.
In addition to the General Operating Budget of $154 million, the Council this week is scheduled to vote on a $73.3 million Water and Sewer Budget for FY 2017 that would support the City’s drinking water supply as well as the disposal and cleaning of wastewater, stormwater management and the infrastructure needs for each system.
“We have had some good give and take on this budget this year and I also took into account the concerns of my council colleagues who have been reviewing the Mayor’s original proposal for several weeks,” said Council President Gregory. “We were able to eliminate some positions which will produce longer term savings, identify new funding for the land bank and other neighborhood-based housing projects and we found money so we can finally move forward with departmental management studies to help us become a more efficient government. Budgets are all about compromising and that’s what we’ve done in this case.”
“During our budget discussions, the Council President and Council Members listened to Administration concerns about the need to add and subtract positions for better government efficiencies while still achieving an overall decrease in total employment. This budget is fiscally responsible and provides the resources needed to continue to provide a level of service that citizens have become used to receiving,” said Mayor Williams.
The vacant positions that would be eliminated with the adoption of the FY 2017 budget compromise include a contract compliance officer, a senior financial analyst, telecom manager and a document management systems administrator.
For more information about this press release, contact:
Alexandra M. Coppadge
Communications Director
Office of Mayor Dennis P. Williams
(302) 576-2104
(302) 740-0675
amcoppadge@WilmingtonDE.gov
John Rago
Communications and Policy Development Director
Wilmington City Council
(302) 576-2149
(302) 420-7928
jrago@WilmingtonDE.gov