By Moses Leos III
After facing a near million-dollar shortfall in July, Buda has managed to exit the budget season in the black. However, increasing utility and property tax rates was the only way to accomplish the feat.
On Sept. 20, the Buda City Council unanimously approved the adoption of the fiscal year 2013-2014 (FY 13-14) budget and tax rate. It allows the city to go forward with several projects, along with increasing utility fund balances.
Revenue gained by Buda in the FY 13-14 budget was tabbed at $22,283,468. Expenses will come out to $21,861,887, for a difference of $421,581. In 2012-13, Buda brought in $13,843,487, but spent $16,324,476.
That is a far cry from July, when the city was expected to be in the red by $846,923. It forced everyone to dig deep and fix the problem.
“You have to find means of paying for projects, and making some of them a priority,” Finance Manager Sidonna Faust said. “We had to find the best use of taxpayers’ money.”
The big-ticket items in this year’s budget were the Westside Well project and fixing the roads in Bonita Vista.
The Westside Well is expected to cost $975,000, which will come out of the Water Utility Fund, with Bonita Vista coming out of the General Fund at a cost of $2.9 million.
The Westside Well will be financed through a Certificate of Obligation, and will add to the city’s debt. Buda’s principal debt stands at just over $25.2 million dollars. Add on interest and the amount owed jumps to $33.3 million.
While the Westside Well is, “not needed right now,” according to Mayor Todd Ruge, it will expand water service on the west side. It also allows the city a contingency to keep water service going in the event of a problem.
The city had to move $95,039 from its investment account with Texpool Investments to account for Bonita Vista, bringing revenue from the General Fund to just over $5 million dollars.
Buda is leaning toward issuing a C/O for Bonita Vista, but has not come to a decision just yet.
“[Council] has not decided on that yet,” Ruge said. “A C/O is quickest and cleanest way to fund [Bonita Vista], but we are exploring more creative options.”
However, Buda did not expect to go through with both projects in this budget cycle. In July, the city faced a $843,923 shortfall. It stemmed from Bonita Vista and the West Wide Well projects – the latter placing the Water Utility Fund over budget by $998,826.
Originally, Westside was to be pushed back to next year. However, council felt it was appropriate to put both on this year’s budget – particularly Bonita Vista, where residents have dealt with cracked and broken roads for six years.
Conservative spending in the FY 12-13 budget gave Buda the chance to fix the issue. Ruge said he knows residents have clamored for it, and was grateful for their patience.
“We wanted to get [Bonita Vista] done this year,” he said.
The big conundrum was how to pay for it all.
Originally, the first proposed budget was created with last year’s tax rate of 27.13 cents per $100 valuation.
However, it was not feasible at that rate for everything council wanted. In August, the city proposed to increase the tax rate to 29.79 – an increase panned by Ruge, who was the only council member to vote against the measure.
Upon further review, Ruge recognized the need for the increase. It was an issue of paying for projects now, or later.
“Any time you get the chance to give back you should,” Ruge said. “Because of our growth, we need to build toward our future.”
Buda’s tax rate is still one of the lowest in the area.
The city also raised water and wastewater rates – water will increase by four percent, wastewater by two percent. Last year, those fees were expected to increase by five percent, but fell below the mark.
Rate increases will help not only pay for Bonita Vista and Westside, but also keep the respective fund balances healthy. Council and City Manager Kenneth Williams asked to have at least three months of reserve funds within each department.
“We have to keep an eye on our fund balances,” Faust said. “It is a matter of keeping the bottom line of money stable.”
No major cuts were made to the budget. However, council did not reach a conclusion on how much should be allotted to several nonprofits. Buda has budgeted $25,000 for nonprofits. Buda will not spend $78,000 from the General Fund to begin bus service from Capital Metro.
For now, the process has come to a conclusion. For Faust and city staff, it’s a time to look back at the success of what they’ve accomplished before moving on to next year’s budget.
“It is exciting to go through so much work with everyone working together,” Faust said. “It was a lot of work on everyone’s part.”
Ruge was content with the budget finalization.
“It was paramount that we (council) put our heads together to put Bonita Vista and Westside well on the budget,” Ruge said. “Overall, everything went smoothly. We had a few council members go through their first budget cycle. They did an excellent job.”
Of the approved items in the Buda budget was the acquisition of two new police cars totaling naer $100,000. According to Buda Police Chief the cost for outfitting a police vehicle surpasses the cost of the car.
Vehicle Cost Budget
Base Price $22,500
Factory Options/Delivery $1,480
Graphics $675
Harris Radio (LCRA) $3,300
Radio Installation $100
In-Car Video $5,000
Radar $1,900
Computer MDC $5,500
Computer Mounts/Tray $800
Lights, Console, Sirens $4,900
Cage w/Window Bars $675
Stop Sticks $400
Shotgun/Rifle Mount $450
Red Maplight $45
Rechargeable Flashlight/Mount $100
Fire Extinguisher $60
Floor Mats $35
Equipment Tray Trunk $375
Flashlight Cone $12
LL Shotgun $400
Digital Camera w/case/card $250
Fingerprint Kit $50
Equipment Installation Costs $1,400
Total Cost per Vehicle $50,407
