Life Of Jason

I had thought about posting this after the live blog from the budget but realized that after almost 6200 words it would likely go unnoticed.  Then again, after I say what I say here perhaps it should be going unnoticed!

The understatement of the week is going to be that this budget situation is a complicated problem that is not going to be solved with an easy “cut ‘em all” solution that is being advocated by certain pockets of people in our community.  I really believe the people standing up and saying to “cut all the non-essential services” is really not looking at the entire picture of the community (or they really don’t care about anyone but themselves but I doubt someone like that would take the time to make their opinion heard in a public way.)

EVERY department is going to have to take a cut.  ALL of them.  As much as we might want to not cut in places like the police and fire departments (and I certainly don’t WANT to cut any of that) it’s not realistic to say that’s the only departments in the city that should not take cuts when the rest of the city is cutting jobs and services as well.  I wouldn’t say that we shouldn’t talk about less of a cut than some other departments but it’s not realistic to trim everywhere but just a few places.

All the non-profits and other organizations that are receiving city funds would be seriously crippled or even destroyed with a total loss of city funds.  As much as some people want to pretend these groups can make up the shortfall with private funds the fact is that’s not really going to happen.  I don’t want to be cynical but part of me believes that the people crying the loudest to cut the funding from non-profit groups wouldn’t give one thin dime to help any of them make up the shortfall.  With that knowledge, I can’t say in good conscience we need to trim all the funding.

So…with that end of the spectrum out of the way…the people advocating no cuts in the non-profits or no cuts to the Park Board have to realize that those cuts MUST happen as well.  As much as it sounds good and scary to say these cuts will eliminate all the programs for low income families and elderly and at-risk kids the bottom line is that all those programs do not have to be the first ones cut.  Sure, the temptation to cut the programs that don’t rake in the dollars like programs for at-risk kids is great, quick and easy.  However, other programs could be trimmed up to help save some of those programs.  The City Council can’t solve that…that onus is on the Park Board…but there are smart people on that board who can find a way to do it.

OK…all that said…here’s my take on things:

1.  Everyone takes some kind of cut.  No department gets a pass no matter how hard it may be to make cuts in the departments.

2.  The City Council needs to explain clearly why the cuts are being made for each cut being made.  The only way that can be done is to take the steps recommended by Councilman Dan Chiles.  Go through line by line.  Spell everything out in detail to the public.

3.  Have someone outside of the city staff structure go through the budget and make detailed recommendations.  I’m not saying the city staff isn’t doing a good job…this isn’t a commentary on that.  However, more information is always good and an outside opinion can do nothing but provide unique perspective.

4.  Allow compassion to actually factor into this situation.  For example, the Park Board BEFORE the budget process goes through should spell out to the citizens the programs they’re funding, what would be cut and why those programs were cut over other ones.  Let the public take a look and go back to both the Park Board and City Council and say that some money should be moved around to save particular programs.  Put a focus on low income families and at-risk youth and elderly.  We have to make cuts.  We don’t have to focus on the cuts that cause the most harm to those groups.

5.  FIND SOLUTIONS.  We hear a lot of people saying “cut this” or “don’t cut that.”  That’s all well and good but it doesn’t solve anything.   If you want to cut things then you need to back it up with why you want it cut, the community impact and present alternatives.  Likewise if you don’t want things cut.  Let’s get focused on solutions rather than problems.

6.  Listen to all sides and don’t shut out someone just because they might be presenting an unpopular solution.  I’m not saying we have to DO all the suggestions but we cannot at this point afford to ignore anyone.

7.  Make everything public.  Make the list of suggested cuts from all departments public and easily accessible.  Have the groups affected by the cuts make their budgets available to the public.  Put it out in the open.  The people of the Ozarks are a good group of people with a solid work ethic for the most part and a good dose of common sense.  They’re not going to cut funding to a program for poor children to have a park program if they can trim 5% from a dozen other programs to save it.  Make the information available and be amazed at the solutions.

I’ll admit I’m kind of tired and I’m still processing some things.  There’s a chance I’ll amend this post later on once I’ve been able to sleep a bit.  Still, I really think we need to focus on solutions to the problems and we need to get past the initial state of “cut this” or “don’t cut this.”  Let’s get all the information…and our public groups like the Park Board (as an example)…need to provide it as quickly as possible.

As a lower income resident of Springfield, I know the Park Board and its programs are vital to my family.  My children don’t get as many gifts at Christmas as others but they get a Discovery Center membership so we have somewhere to go that they love to go.  If Park programs are cut, it will directly hurt my family.  I’m still advocating cuts because everyone needs to make them but to say it comes only at the expense of the low income families is absurd.  Solutions are out there.  We need to find them without screaming to cut them all.  An Ozark resident is not rigid rules without compassion.  That’s not the kind of people who live here.

6:00pm…I’m live at the Springfield City Council chambers for tonight’s public comment session of City Council regarding the budget for 2008-2009. It should be a lively debate with speakers ranging from Discovery Center Director and local Fashion Icon Emily Fox to frequent City Council meeting commenter Bob Mondy. Since this is more of a public meeting than Council meeting I’ll probably make more editorial comments than at a regular Council meeting. I’ll put them in parenthesis and in italics like this: (I’m going to comment like this.)

In the Council chambers are three very large charts showing the 2007-2008 Budget, General Fund Appropriations and Revenue Sources.

On the 2007-2008 Budget chart it shows:

Total: $255,121,801

General Fund (28%): $74,767,324
Special Revenue (26%): $65,355,629
Enterprise (25%): $62,939,000
Debt Service (7%): $17,269,931
Capital Projects (7%): $17,184,000
Grants (5%): $11,989,239
Internal Service (2%): $5,616,678
On the General Fund Budget Appropriations chart it shows:

Total: $74,767,324

Police (30%): $22,339,741
Administrative & Non-Departmental (27%): $20,157,228
Fire (21%): $15,488,323
Public Works (10%): $7,825,114
Planning & Building Development (5%): $3,799,216
Emergency Communications (5%): $3,723,240
Municipal Court (2%): $1,434,462
On the Revenue Sources chart it shows:

Total: $255,122,801

Charges and Fees (23%): $57,240,762
General 1% Sales Tax (16%): $41,650,000
Intergovernmental (13%): $32,918,204
Law Enforcement and Parks Sales Tax (9%): $23,490,973
Other Resources (9%): $22,629,249
Other Taxes (8%): $21,102,793
Capital Improvement Sales Tax (6%): $15,550,000
Property Tax (6%): $15,524,998
Transfers (4%): $11,070,575
Licenses and Fines (4%): $9,134,247
Use Tax (2%): $4,800,000

I’m sure there will be some kind of formal presentation to those in attendance to explain the information being provided on the charts. Much of this info was presented to us last week at City University and it’s actually pretty straightforward in the numerical data.

6:15pm…Wi-Fi goes down.

6:22pm…Wi-Fi comes back.

6:23pm…Dan Chiles’ tie is once again festive but subdued. You would have to see it to understand. I’ve been given copies of two of the upcoming presentations…one from Tom Martz and one from Ray Clouse. Mr. Clouse said that this would be his “first time doing something like this.”

6:26pm…Councilman Doug Burlison comes in with a wry smile on his face. I don’t know if that’s a look of “this is going to be good” or “boy, are we in trouble…”

6:30pm…Council members and citizens are still milling around so we won’t be starting on time.

6:32pm…Mayor Carlson gavels and says we’ll be starting shortly. He asks Council members to take their seats and for citizens to take theirs as well. City Clerk Brenda Cirtin says we have nineteen people scheduled to speak. We’re going to be here a while…

6:34pm…Councilmembers Rushefsky and Deaver are not in attendance.

6:35p…The Mayor opens with welcome statements to the audience and speaks of the purpose of the meeting: giving citizens a chance to comment on the potential cuts in the 2008-2009 budget. He spoke of the timelines and procedures. The City management under City Charter is obligated to submit a budget by May 1st and the Council has to get the budget in place by July 1st.

6:35pm…Councilwoman Rushefsky enters the chamber and takes her seat.

6:36pm…The Mayor thanked those who have submitted comments to the city and that they will be cutting off public comment in mid-April. He says they need to come up with over five million dollars for the contribution to the police/fire pension fund. In 2002, that contribution was a little over four million dollars and because of the changes done by the actuary the contribution requirement has gone up around three hundred percent.

“It is the Council’s goal to look at what can be done long term to solve this issue,” Mayor Carlson said. “But for now we have to look at what we can do in the short term.”

The Mayor said because of the number of people that if you wish to speak you should get a card into the City Clerk in the next few minutes but after that it will be cut off. He said that the budget director Mary Mannix-Decker will be giving an overview of the budget. She is going to explain why some funds can’t be taken from certain budgets and put into other budgets to off-set some of the comments being thrown around in the community regarding why some money is being spent instead of going to the police/fire pension.

The Mayor said he would like City staff to comment after hearing the comments because he doesn’t want anyone to feel like their contributions were not considered. He asked Council to limit their questions unless it’s really something that is not clear “but let’s not get into an extended dialogue on each and every idea” to let the public have their say to the Council.

6:40pm…Mary Mannix-Decker stands up to give a PowerPoint presentation of the city’s budget situation. She explained that the Special Revenue is from special taxes that the voters have approved and the city has to be accountable for the funds that they were spent in the area for which it was collected. Enterprise is fees collected for use like golf course fees. Grants are mostly public works projects and the airport. The General Fund “is our basic government services.”

She posted a graph of the 1% General Sales Tax as part of the overall City Budget. (This is the Revenue Sources chart whose stats are listed at the top of this post.) Intergovernmental is money that comes in from the state or other governments. “These revenue sources are pretty independent compared to the sales tax side of things.”

General Fund Revenue:

Total: $74,767,324

Sales and Use Tax (60%): $44,050,000
Other Taxes (21%): $15,904,800
License, Fines and Fees (10%): $7,661,000
Intergovernmental (5%): $3,787,095
Other Misc (4%): $3,364,429

6:49pm…Ms. Mannix-Decker moved on to talk about the budget in general. She said they are budgeting for no growth in 2008-2009. She said they budget sixteen to eighteen months out and they’re anticipating an upturn in the economy in that time. However, there is nothing in here for salary increases or increased spending. “It’s a flat budget.”

She showed the unfunded ratio of the police/fire plan:

2002: 72.5%
2003: 66.3%
2004: 54.6%
2005: 52.0%
2006: 50.6%
2007: 50.o%

She said the contribution rate should be increased to 50.21% of city payroll. In 2008-2009, that’s approximately $12.5 million. Currently, the contribution is just over seven million and that’s where the five million dollar gap is coming from to create the shortfall.

A seven percent decrease in personnel and supplies/services would raise about $5.2 million a year. “The General Fund cannot withstand a cut of this magnitude without affecting everything that falls within the General Fund. While public safety is important it is fifty percent of the budget and to not cut them would result in even deeper cuts in other parts of the departments that come from the general fund.”

General Assembly voted in 2007 that Missouri cities to make an actuarial contribution in one of the next five years or the state could withhold 25% of all revenue from the state withheld by the State. 2008 is the first of the five-year period but the city is afraid the contribution will be even higher in subsequent years.

6:55pm …The Mayor spoke about the retirement fund about a presentation from the actuary. He said the experts estimate what the fund will earn with it’s investments. The actuary changed the estimate from 8.5% to 7.5% a few years ago and when it happened the liability to the city increased by $50 million. He said he wanted to highlight how these kinds of changes can affect the entire financial situations.

6:58pm…The Mayor said that he is going to limit people to four minutes. He asked that if people are going to talk to the same issue to please trim their comments.

6:59pm…The first two don’t show and the Mayor says “this will faster than I thought.” Bob Mondy was to speak. He asked about a Sunshine Law request and if they had his information and they said they had the information about the costs to give him tonight. He said he wants the Council to address what is right about Springfield. “Sometimes it’s stormy before it’s sunshine.” He said he’s seen the transformation of downtown and he’s proud of the way it’s a place he can take his wife and friends from out of town. He thanked them for the parking garages and thanked John Q. Hammons for his contributions. He said to sell what we need to sell but to “stand tall, Springfield.”

7:01pm…Dr. Iran Neal-Cohen. He wanted to speak about ways to cut costs for animal control in the community. He said his plan can cut costs, reduce dog bites in the community and promote and enhance the national reputation Springfield has as the hub of the largest dog breeding area in the country. It would also eliminate the breed specific law against pit bulls. The proposal is to determine if City Council is willing to hold people accountable for their decisions regarding their dogs. Holding them fiscally responsible for basically not getting their pets neutered. (I’m sure Bob Barker would endorse it.) The Mayor clarified to ask if it’s a spay and neuter law. Dr. Neal-Cohen said it could be a registration or a breeding law. “It’s an accountability program.” The Mayor said if he has the information in writing that they would like to see it. City Manager Cumley said that some Council members were talking about similar things.

7:05pm…Stan Melton. Co-manager of the Springfield Ice Bears hockey club. He’s with the Jordan Valley Park advisory commission. He wants to talk about the Ice Park. He said the city has done a great job with the Jordan Valley project and that it’s been a benefit to the citizens of Springfield. The parks facility programs make up one of the best park systems in the country. He asked them to reconsider the 50% cut in the funds to the parks department. He doesn’t feel it’s fair to ask the parks department to take such a drastically higher cut than the other departments within the city. (I think that’s a valid point. At the same time, the Parks have a tax for them that the other General Funds departments don’t have available.) He said that the attendance at Ice Park events continues to grow each year.

He wanted them to consider the Ice Park’s economic impact beyond the facility itself and mentioned visiting teams and fans using local restaurants and hotels. These groups use local vendors for their services. If 10 of the 18 freshman made the decision to attend because of the Ice Bears it adds hundreds of thousands of dollars to the economy because of the added students at Missouri State. The future of the Ice Bears is “very bright.” “We’re just short of filling the venue for all of our games.”

He wants them to consider more than just budget cuts and consider ways to increase revenues including stronger support for marketing of Springfield as a travel destination. (Aren’t we doing a lot of that already? I don’t think we need to do even more of that.)

Councilwoman Rushefsky said that she would hope in the future Mr. Melton could make a presentation to Council about the Ice Park.

7:10pm…Reba Sims. She taught at Missouri State for almost 40 years. She’s here to talk about cuts to the Park Board budget. She again said it was unbalanced to make a 50% cut in the Parks budget while cutting 7% from other departments. She said that the Park Board programs work for the betterment of the kids in the schools and “I cannot imagine the kids of today not having access to these programs.” She said they are training ground for teachers of the future. She said the programs have brought recognition to the city across the country. Over the four year period, the have absorbed many increases in salaries and capped their requests for funds in the last two budget cycles to keep costs down and therefore have gone above and beyond what they have been asked to do.

If the cuts take place they will lose five full time positions, reduce or eliminate 60 part time positions, Firefall, exhibits at the zoo because of the loss of animal handlers, summer playground events. “If we eliminate these programs for at risk kids, where will they go and what will they do?” She can’t see where these programs can be eliminated. She wants this presented to the people because these cuts won’t solve the problem and she endorses a sales tax.

The Mayor spoke of why 7% to other places and 50% to the park board. He said he was speculating that the other departments were core departments and that why they were being cut less than the Park Board.

Councilman Burlison said that one possible mechanism if legal is to go back to the voters and see if they would authorize what is currently collected in sales taxes for the parks to not just be for new constructions but also used for general operations. Staff said that 1/8 went to continuing operations and 1/8 went to new construction. (That sounds like a good plan to me.)

Councilwoman Rushefsky asked about the raises that the Park Board absorbed over the years. City Manager Cumley said the city has a merit system and all employees are under that merit plan and the parks staff are included. The airport covers theirs, the parks cover theirs, etc.

City Manager Cumley said that the 7% is the percentage of the total budget. The 50% cut is their general fund contribution cut but not the overall cut to their overall budget.

7:19pm…Rob Baird. President of Conco Companies. He said he felt compelled to speak tonight was because we are in a terrible position. Made him think of the time he was on the school board in the 90s and had to cut five million a year for several years. He said that the city, however, will have to find ways to make that cuts. He said he’s a businessman and dealing with it in his business and knows that cuts have to be made. He said that non-profits across the arts and social services section are extremely vulnerable. They’re fragile and sustainability has been an issue even when times were good. We could see the unraveling of a lot of these groups.

The very fabric of the public/private collaboration and what this community has done so well for the last ten or fifteen years is very much in danger. He said as a businessman we’ll be very lucky to have a flat economy and that he’s afraid it could be worse than that. Leadership still has to make the difficult cuts but the community has to be brought along to understand what is really at state here. What most of the non-profits in collaboration of the city hasn’t been funded that much by the city. Most of it is aimed at youth..the future…and it will have disastrous economic returns if we pull back from those. It’s about sustainability. It’s something that we all have to do together in a way that doesn’t fragment the community.

7:24pm…Kevin McAdams. Works with Pellham Commercial Realtors. There are investing groups that purchase city owned properties in outright sales or sale and lease-back. They do a determination of the property and then lease back to the city over a number of years or an outright sale. “It’s a little more complicated than a four minute dissertation tonight” but that he wanted to present the opportunity. The Mayor acknowledged they have received information from their firm on this situation and that it has been referred to the city staff.

The Mayor commented on the “Why don’t you sell the Ice Park” question and how it was built on a bond issue and that there are penalties for pre-payment and other legal considerations. “It’s not an ‘Oh Gee, if someone buys this we’re out of the soup’ kind of situation.” City Manager Cumley agreed with the mayor.

7:26pm…Terri Reed. She asked the Council not to cut anything that has a direct effect on the children of the community. She said Springfield has one of the highest rates of child abuse and neglect in the nation and we can’t afford cuts within that area. She said that she is going to second people about the Jordan Valley Ice Park. She knows that even though it’s not making money at this point if they could find a developer who can devote all their resources to it that we could have a venue that benefits the city and have the right to buy it back in the future.

7:28pm…John Sellars, director of the History Museum. They have over 20,000 youth every year they reach either through the museum or outreach programs. “We add something to the city and this building.” He said that they proposed cutting 18% of their budget and that it would be devastating to a group that is already on a shoestring budget. It would also devastate outreach programs to schools and retirement homes.

City Manager Cumley said Mr. Sellars mentioned that the city was cutting three one-hundredths of one percent and it’s really seven percent overall. The Mayor said it would be good for Mr. Cumley in the future to tell how much of the city’s cut affects the overall contributions toward budgets of non-profits.

7:30pm…Tom Martz. Springfield is carrying a debt load of $415 million. The city has amassed assets of $640 million and $135 million is usable revenue. “The problem the city finds itself dealing with does not come from a revenue shortfall but a spending and regulation problem.” With our city on the fourth busiest  highway in the nation we should be a haven for employers but there hasn’t been a major employer to locate here in years and that today Cargill announced they were closing Willow Brook and putting 800 Springfieldians out of work.

“The city has to get rid of burdensome regulations which would have employers relocating here.”

The Mayor asked if Mr. Martz had any affiliation with any particular group because it would be appropriate to let the Council know that. He said he is the chairman of the Missouri Liberty Coalition.

7:35pm…Ray Clouse. He said it was his first time and the Mayor welcomed him and asked if he was with a particular group. Mr. Clouse said he was with Mr. Martz’ group, the Missouri Liberty Coalition. He said he’s lived in Springfield all his life except when he was in the Air Force. He said the city shouldn’t have signed that agreement but we did and we should honor it. “The city doesn’t need more taxes to higher utility bills. It needs more accountability.”

“We have condemned land, homes and businesses to build concrete jungles.” For too long we have been selling land and garages for less than cost. Why does the City have millions in profits which is pretty good for a non-profit organization?

“We need leaders who can control spending and get our priorities in order. We don’t need to build big business, we need a livable City that cares about their Citizens.”

He wants to drop parts of the CIP, 20/20 and the TIF program and work on the things deemed necessary.

“I just hope that this city can step back and listen to the citizens.” (I do too…but the citizens all have differing opinions as you’ve seen tonight.)

7:38pm…Stephanie Montgomery. A member of Friends of the Zoo and Friends of the Zoo Elephants. “Tonight, I’m here as a mother.” It’s important for our community’s children to learn sports skills and the things they can learn by being a part of the award winning parks system. (That’s true enough.) She said that the park programs help offset the problems in our community with childhood obesity and help children get fit and educated on the outdoors. It helps them develop a healthy lifestyle that is good for them and our community.

She said another thing for the park board is that it has been a leader in the public/private partnerships of the area.

“Budget cuts of this magnitude will effect the most vulnerable in our community…our children.” (I agree but some cuts do have to be made there like everywhere else. I don’t think we should cut it all like some activist groups in town have advocated but you can’t not cut parks when other parts are cut as well.) She said cuts in the park board budget will effect future tax revenue.

7:43pm…Carl Herd. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many long faces.” “Maybe you can take a deep breath and smile.” He said he hopes they haven’t bought in that the only way to fix the pension problem is through tax increases. He said he has three points to make on the issue tonight. He apologized for bringing a prop because he didn’t know it was against city code but he’ll try to “paint a picture to keep you awake tonight.” His first point is that City Council needs to improve it’s image. He said there are expenditures the Council has rubber stamped. He said he put a million dollars on his tree for the container issue although he admitted he doesn’t know the actual costs. “Would you just table the container issue and never bring it up again? Make it a place where employers would want to come.”

His second point was the $200,000 contribution to the square. He said he hopes everyone who hits a pothole because they can’t afford to pay to fix it calls the Council to let them know about spending money on the Council. He said that it is a small amount of money but it speaks volumes about the Council’s image. (You mean, the image that says they want to see vital economic development downtown instead of a dead square that doesn’t help at all?)

He said that “a very positive thing” would be to vote no on the Commercial Street TIF. He said that would go a long way to offset their “reputation of spending.”

City Manager Cumley said that in years past the public has demanded meetings in the past for their input. The money for the square did NOT come from the general fund as has been stated many times in the past.

The Mayor asked about the idea that police and fire contribute more and the City Manager said that can be done via ordinance change.

7:48pm…Tom Slaight on behalf of the Friends of the Zoo (he’s immediate past President) and the Park Board. The Park Board was cited in a recent survey reflecting on the Vision 20/20 program had glowing reports about the Park Board. He said that we need to remember that when the Park Board is discussed it is not just a city issue but a county issue as well. He said that prior to the Park Board tax increase that voters approved a hotel/motel tax to revitalize the Jordan Valley Park. He said voters recognized the importance of tourism to our area. It impacts our park facilities to have that tourism.

He spoke of the poor families in our community and how the Park Board levels that field and gives them access to programs they wouldn’t have another way. (Like my children because I certainly can’t afford the high membership rates at places like the YMCA.)

“The core of [the Park Board]’s mission is to improve our quality of life.” He said it would make no sense to cut programs that bring in revenue because it would hamper the overall intent. He said that cutting the 50% contribution will eliminate all programs that do not bring in income and to remember who it will effect…our children, our lower income families and the elderly. He said the Park Board is the most accessible, most inclusive part of the community.

The Mayor asked City Manager Cumley that the city cut doesn’t dictate what is to be cut but that the Park Board can cut whatever they feel needs to be cut. City Manager Cumley confirmed that it was the case.

7:53pm…Guy Mace. Speaking on behalf of the Dickerson Park Zoo as a past President. He said he’s volunteered on boards and has even been a lifeguard at one of the city pools in the past. He said to think about the parks and think about Springfield. “Think about where you take your children and just think about the zoo, recreation center, pool, tennis, retirement center…where you have your reunions…where you go for a walk or see flowers. And of course, baseball.”

He said when he interviews employees for his city he takes them to see the colleges and through the parks because Springfield has one of the most wonderful park systems in the country. (No question about that…it doesn’t mean, though, that the parks can’t have cuts when everyone else is having them.) He said that no questions schools, police, fire, streets are basic services but that he submits the park system is a basic service to this community.

He said that once they get a good answer that perhaps it needs to come up for public vote. He again asked them to consider the importance of the parks to our community.

7:58pm…Loring Bullard. Watershed Committee of the Ozarks. He spoke on how hard it is for non-profits to cut staff by ten percent or to put on a hiring freeze. He said that while he understands all groups have to make sacrifices that the Council should limit cuts to non-profits to 15%. He said that cuts more than this (like the 50% proposed) will devastate most non-profits. He said that the lower cut would mean more likely curtailing of services rather than eliminating positions.

8:00pm…Fred Ellison. He is with the Missouri Liberty Coalition. Has been on Neighborhood Roundtable Steering Committee. He thanked the Council for their volunteering of time to be a part of the Council. He said every detail of the city’s funding must be explored. He repeated the statement earlier by Tom Martz that $135 million usable revenue is at the city’s discretion. He spoke of the shortfall of funding for the funding in the last three years (over six million) and that city management must be held responsible for it. (I don’t disagree with accountability.)

“Raising sales taxes will hurt citizens who can least afford to pay.” (True.) He said the overall result will be people shopping outside of the city and a drop in revenue.

He said that the city could raise the property tax rate but that a higher property tax rate could cause residents and businesses to move into the county rather than the city. “Those of whom you are ultimately responsible are watching closely” to see if they will honor the commitment to the citizens of the community.

City Manager Cumley asked Mary Mannix-Decker to address the “unrestricted” assets. She said that is the city’s total from all of the city’s funds which includes the enterprise and the capital projects funds which cannot be used for the police/fire pension. There is about ten million reserve in unrestricted funds that could be contributed but that reserve is restricted for one time use and has to be replenished over the next three years.

The Mayor asked Ms. Mannix-Decker asked the cost out of the general fund for the Ice Storm. The city paid $3.2 million dollars after money from FEMA and other federal sources. That contributed to the city not being able to make the full contribution to the fund last year.

Councilman Wylie asked about sales tax and that surrounding communities are about half a percent more. Ms. Mannix-Decker said we are 7.125% now but lower than cities to the south and west of Springfield. She said revenue generated from our sales tax is one of the highest in the state.

Councilman Burlison asked about the unrestricted net assets. He said these can be used for multiple uses according to his understanding. He asked for examples of the unrestricted net assets and the parameters under which they can be used. She said that things like roads and sewers are considered in that total versus total debts.

For example, sanitary services have assets like treatment plants and cash versus debt on the treatment plants. Some is cash, some is equity in the fund like someone has equity in their home. She said they can’t take money from sanitary services for the pension because the sewer rates would go up and then people would be funding the police/fire pension through higher sewer rates. (Wait a second…why CAN’T we do that on some kind of limited basis? Yeah, I know…if they take it they won’t give it back when the problem is solved but it COULD be a solution.)

8:10pm…Cindy Stephens. She has been a paid staff member of two of the non-profits, works for OTC. She said that she has familiarity with all but three non-profits and while some might consider that a conflict of interest she considers it being informed. (Many people laughed.) She said that although in theory cutting non-profits 50% spreads the pain evenly but that the city needs to look at what percentage of their contribution is to the overall budget of that non-profit. She said that there was a tournament where a local team showed up with one batting helmet for the team. The city wants to cut the funding for the non-profit that provided that helmet and the spray to make sure head lice wasn’t spread by that helmet.

She said the bottom line is that she’s a big proponent of users pay and self-pay but that we need to help those who are least able to help themselves. “It takes a very special group to perform those services.” She said she can’t do those things every day and that she needs to consider those who are least able to help themselves.

8:14pm…Nancy Dornan. She said that we have a good and strong Park Board, Zoo, Ozark Greenways and more. She is pretty much backing up the earlier statements regarding the cuts to the Park Board. She said that she wanted to bring up earnings taxes. “There are other income streams that hopefully can be explored going forward.”

The Mayor asked about earnings taxes and City Manager Cumley said Springfield can’t do it without the OK from Jefferson City.

Councilwoman Rushefsky said that people advocating cuts should have been asked to provide alternative funding for the cuts. “If that had happened we would have had a lot less speakers tonight.” She said there isn’t a cut in this budget that is not going to hurt somebody. She said that all of these people are “important to us.”

Councilman Wylie said he wanted to echo Councilman Rushefsky’s comments about the impact of programs. He said that he’s had a few of his residents contact me and they have been concerned enough to relate how they have handled budgets in the private sector. He said some have come to workshops to see what is presented and discovered how they handle their budget is not how the city has to handle their budget “but they’re hanging in with me.” He said that he appreciates that input because it shows people are genuinely concerned about what the results are going to be. He thanked everyone in attendance.

Councilman Manley said he appreciates everyone who showed up not only to share their views but also to listen. He said the Council is here to serve the citizens and the mission of operating Springfield the way the citizens want the city to be run. He said he knows some cuts are going to cause hurt but that the city has to honor the agreements to policeman and firefighters. “You could be home watching the TV and partying and whatever but you’re here to show your concern for the city of Springfield and God bless each one of you.”

Councilman Chiles said wanted to remind everyone this the town of Jack Steck. He said that this city is about involving people in daily budget activities just like Mr. Steck’s businesses. He said that all the items need to be looked at line by line and that Christmas lights are less important as clean water and children. (ABSOLUTELY!!!!) He said the Council’s underpaid for all the abuse they take but that they need to step up and do the task anyway.

He said that a few Council meetings back there was $300,000 from a settlement given in raises but people on their game would have said “we should save this for our children.” He said that he has no problem putting a tax increase up for a vote…but that he sees people are going to be paying outrageous gas prices this summer.

“Look folks…we have a lot of rising prices and we have to get serious about the budget and we’re not there yet.” He said that the staff has to go back with the Jack Steck mentality and go back and look at this budget and he hasn’t seen it yet. We have to set priorities and we haven’t done it yet.

Councilman Whayne. He said “first, let me say I’m not a preacher like Dan” (laughs in the room.) He said he wanted to clarify what some people were claiming about the city frivolously spending money. He said that a lot of the money coming are earmarked for certain events and he thanked Senator Bond and Rep. Blunt for bringing that money to Springfield. He said the 1/4 tax is earmarked and cannot be put into the General Fund. “We’re not spending money unnecessarily. Have we always made the best choice? No, we probably haven’t. But I’ll tell you this…we’ve tried to be good stewards of our money.”

“We don’t give nobody no special privileges here. But if people are investing lots of money in this town they are due some kind of privilege. It takes money to make money. You all know that. I keep hearing that we just waste money, we just waste money. I wish we had money to waste. But all the improvements you see from sewers to roads…that money has all been earmarked and we do what we say and we do it on time.”

Councilwoman Collette joked she gets to follow two preachers. (Laughter) She thanked everyone who came out tonight. She said there are places where the community can step up where there might be a loss of programs. This brings the city government closer to the people and that might be a good outcome of this whole discussion.

Mayor Carlson wanted to add that he’s been sitting in these kinds of hearing for twenty five years and this is the most he’s ever seen in attendance for a budget and he thanked everyone. He said this was intended to raise awareness on the issues. He said that really appreciated the comments of Robert Baird and that this is a great community. He said that a recent survey said Springfield had one of the best economies in an eight state region. He said that the Council doesn’t always made the right decision but they try to make the best decision.

He said that the decision making process won’t be done tonight but over a series of months. He said the Council will balance the budget but they will give careful consideration to where we are and how we reached that point. “At the end of the day, it’s this community through it’s voters that’s going to decide what kind of Council they want and what kind of community they will pay for…it’s not going to be a top down process.”

He said the Council is looking from the position of wanting to see the total picture, hearing from all the agencies affected and once they have a grasp of the situation they will funnel that information forward into a final budget. A matrix of proposals to cut the budget will be available on the web for people to look at and citizens can comment until April 8th.

8:39pm…The Mayor said his final thank yous to everyone and adjourned the meeting.

Well…lots of things to talk about and I’m going to post my thoughts on all of this later on tonight in a separate blog entry.

The Park Board has a new employee:

The Springfield-Greene County Park Board recently appointed Josiah Modes as its Figure Skating Director for the Jordan Valley Ice Park, 635 E. Trafficway.

Modes has a long history in ice skating, including a competitive career placing at the 1998 U.S. National Championship in pairs. His professional career includes more than 11 years performing in shows at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fla., touring with Disney on Ice throughout Japan and Southeast Asia. He also performed in Germany with his wife Yulia Sudakova, who is an instructor at Jordan Valley Ice Park, for two years as a principal pair team.

Modes’ teaching career includes simultaneously running the skating programs for the Skating Club of Maine and the Auburn Parks and Recreation Department, before moving to Springfield with his wife in 2007.

Now, you may be asking yourself “wait…wasn’t there a hiring freeze?” Yeah, I asked the same thing. So did Jim Lee. So I contacted the city and this was my response:

The hiring freeze only affects General Fund positions. That position isn’t paid from G.F. revenue. It’s quite likely depending on how things shake out that Parks could be laying off or not hiring people in those G.F. programs that might be cut, but still be hiring other people for programs funded out of designated revenues.

That makes sense although one could ask why the Park Board hasn’t frozen their hiring as well knowing cuts are coming down the line and it could save the jobs of other park board employees.

Obviously, autism awareness and education is a big deal for me.  I saw this story at CNN today and wanted to bring your attention to it.  If you have time to read it, I would appreciate it.

As the story says…”Although autism will be diagnosed in more than 25,000 U.S. children this year, more than new pediatric cases of AIDS, diabetes and cancer combined, scientists and doctors still know very little about the neurological disorder.”

The City has announced they will be holding a meeting regarding the proposed container ordinance.  Mayor Pro Tem Deaver believes the action can be delayed.  Let’s see what happens.
    The City Council Community Involvement Committee will meet on Wednesday, April 2, to discuss an administrative delay related to the storage container ordinance.

Don’t forget the special City Council session tonight to hear from the public regarding the current budget situation.  It starts a half hour before a usual meeting at 6:30 in the Council chambers.  If you wish to speak to council tonight, contact City Clerk Brenda Cirtin today by calling 864-1650 before 5pm.

If you can’t make it, I will be there blogging live.

This is going to the be the first in a series of reviews of local restaurants and local shows.  (If you’re with a Branson show and would like to volunteer to be the first victim…er…show reviewed please e-mail me.)  Restaurants are going to be rated on a five kid scale.  (Since we have five kids, I figured that would be a better fit for this site than a “5 star” rating.)  The high mark for a restaurant would be for me to consider it as good as DiGiancinto’s which is the pinnacle of dining perfection in Springfield.

So today my beautiful fiancee and I had the chance to dine at the San Francisco Oven, 1845 East Sunshine in Springfield.  (That’s just to the east of the Glenstone/Sunshine intersection.)

Atmosphere:  It feels like a weird hybrid of a fast food joint and a sit-down restaurant.  You come in and order your food and pay at the counter like a fast food place but then you take a booth or table and the food is brought to you.  The place is decorated with old style pictures of the bay area and in enhances the “San Francisco” atmosphere they desire to create.  It’s not groundbreaking by any means but it’s nice and makes you feel comfortable.  They were playing Christian pop music while we were there which I thought was a clever business move playing it on Sunday afternoon after church.  Cater to the crowd you have at the time.

Food: Turkey chili and the Penne Sorento with Chicken.   The chili was fantastic.  It had a bold flavor yet it wasn’t too hot for the average person.  (I lived in New Mexico for a while so I’ve discovered spicy food to me is way too spicy for the average Springfieldian.)  The turkey is ground up to a fine texture and it’s thick like a chili should be thick.  I don’t normally use oyster crackers when eating chili but they fit well in this mixture.  The Penne Sorrento with Chicken was also fantastic.  It’s a penne pasta with three different kinds of peppers, chicken and broccoli in an olive oil mixture.  The chicken is seasoned so that it has a little bit of a festive bite and it blends well with the pepper and broccoli mixture.  For dessert, a canolli…and while it was good with the chocolate chips throughout instead of just on the ends like most places…it didn’t measure up to DiGiancinto’s so it cost San Fran Oven a few points. :)  It was still pretty good, though.

Price:  For me, Amy and Julie it was around $25.  We did get a lot of food for the money but I was thankful that my mom & dad had blessed us with a few gift certificates to try to the place.  If I had to pay full price, I wouldn’t have had the chili and likely would have skipped dessert as well to make it a little more affordable.  Still the price for the value is pretty good.

Warning:  There’s a lot of peanut based items on their menu.  If you have a child with a severe peanut allergy (like we do) you would do well to probably go elsewhere.  Amy wanted to get the Sweet and Sour Chicken but couldn’t because she was afraid the wok used would have come in contact with peanuts and had Julie had even one piece of that we’d be on the way to urgent care.

Overall:  We’re likely to eat there again.  Everyone enjoyed their meal and everyone almost cleaned their plate.  (Julie left a little of her cheese pizza on the plate.)  I would give the San Francisco Oven 4 kids out of 5.

Thought some of you might like to see some pics from our engagement photo shoot. Yeah, we’re probably waiting a little late to do them considering we’re getting married in 55 days but that’s just the way it is…  (The road pictures were my idea…I wanted some “album cover” type photos.  The more traditional, romantic-ish photos are Amy’s and her mother’s idea.)

Interesting walk this morning as I stumbled across one thing you don’t see everyday and really looked at something you do.  First, the thing you don’t see every day in the parking lot of The Moxie…

Turns out they were Evangel University film students making their own movie.  The young lady who curtly told me who they were when asked didn’t give me any details on the film but from the scene I saw it involves bad popcorn and background noise the sound tech would love to have less of in the film.  I smiled quietly to myself when I kept getting shocked looks from the students working on the film as if they couldn’t believe someone would actually stop and watch a film being produced in a public setting.  If there were big stars in the flick I could see some furtive glances but (sorry gang) there weren’t any budding Angelina Jolies or Brad Pitts in the scene that I saw filmed! 

The thing I saw every day and never really looked at was St. Anges’ Cathedral…

They’re celebrating their 100th anniversary but according to the person I spoke with the inside of the Cathedral isn’t filled with 100 year old things.    Still it’s cool to see a 100 year old building still looking that good from the outside.

A weird thing happened on the way home.  When I’m walking, I usually greet the people I’m passing with a hello or good morning.  Today as I was walking back toward the house a Springfield police officer was getting from his car to walk into a house across the street from where I was headed.  I smiled and waved with a “good morning Officer!”  The guy looked up with a semi-shocked look like he wasn’t expecting someone to give him a friendly greeting and he muttered a “good morning.”  It made me wonder how often people just say hello or give a friendly greeting to a police officer they may pass on the sidewalk or a parking lot or store.

John Twitty, general manager of City Utilities, is on the agenda to inform the City Council about CU’s proposed rate hike on natural gas during Tuesday’s Council Lunch.  It’s open to the public so if you want to hear what Twitty is going to tell the Council be at the 4th Floor Conference Room in the Busch Municipal Building at high noon.