[B]URLINGTON — The City Council approved a more than $200 million budget for the next fiscal year Monday, but not before registering dissatisfaction with extended parking enforcement hours in the downtown core.
Revenue from the extended hours is estimated to be less than $400,000, a blip in the overall budget, and rancor over its collection never got close to derailing the mayor’s budget proposal, which passed unanimously.
City Councilor Karen Paul, D-Ward 6, praised the collaborative process between the administration and the council and said the resulting budget invests in priorities such as public safety and infrastructure while offering some relief on property taxes.
A tax rate decrease is possible, despite an increase in spending, because of strong revenue figures buoyed by Burlington’s growing economy, and savings on debt service payments made possible by the city’s improved credit rating, city officials said.
The budget reduces the non-education municipal property tax rate by a penny, to 77 cents per $100 of assessed value. That will mean a smaller increase in overall property taxes, because the voter-approved school budget contains an increase that eclipses the tax break on the municipal budget.
The mayor’s original proposal included a half-cent tax rate cut, but City Council President Jane Knodell, P-Central District, was able to negotiate a compromise with the administration that allowed a one-time additional half-penny cut.
The money for the additional one-time cut comes from reducing what’s budgeted for a consultant’s report on efficiency initiatives from $400,000 to $200,000.
Knodell acknowledged the 1 cent rate reduction is still modest but said, “I think the people of the city will get the message that we understand the property tax can be a burden.”
In addition to infrastructure improvements, such as roadway repairs, extending the bike path, and maintaining and repairing city buildings, the budget will pay for a new community center in the Old North End and fully staff 100 sworn police officers.
That’s the number of existing positions, but historically the number of officers has hovered between 90 and 95, according to city officials.
The budget also pays for several new city positions including an opiate policy manager, another deputy fire chief, a citywide risk manager, a city architect and increased library staffing.
City Councilor Kurt Wright, R-Ward 4, said he supports the budget. But, given projected deficits in the next two years, he questioned whether the city could afford to keep adding positions.
The administration has argued that the new positions will save money by creating efficiencies and avoiding the need for additional expenses.
Parking policy prompts debate
In November 2014 the city installed smart meters, which accept credit cards, and it increased the cost of parking from $1 an hour to $1.50 and extended enforcement hours from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. in an area at the center of downtown.
Before those changes, the city’s traffic fund, which is fed by meter revenue and other sources, was staying solvent by putting off maintenance and repairs to the city’s public parking garages, according to Public Works Director Chapin Spencer.
Spencer identified $9 million in garage repairs that need to made in the next several years, which the city plans to pay for with borrowing financed by parking revenue.
City councilors were not able to weigh in directly on the changes, because Burlington’s charter places authority over parking policy with the Public Works Commission, a seven-member body appointed by the mayor and City Council.
Since the enforcement changes took effect, a number of councilors say they’re getting an earful from constituents who don’t like the extended hours and downtown businesses concerned the policy change is a deterrent to customers.
The fiscal year that ends June 30 is the first full year of the new enforcement measures, and as of June 10 the extended hours accounted for an estimated 38 percent of the more than $1 million in meter revenue from the downtown core, according to DPW figures.
Total on-street meter revenue for the last fiscal year was close to $2 million, a roughly $700,000 increase from the last full year before the changes took effect.
Frustrated councilors could have declined to appropriate some or all of the money for expenditures from the traffic fund, but instead Councilor Sharon Bushor, I-Ward 1, introduced an amendment expressing “grave concern” about the extended hours.
Mayor Miro Weinberger said the amendment would dilute the strong City Council support for the budget crafted by his administration, but the amendment passed in a 7 to 5 vote.
Weinberger said he understood the sentiment behind Bushor’s amendment and would support changing the city charter to place some authority over parking policy with the City Council.
However, the mayor defended the 2014 changes as a sensible way to pay for the garage repairs and other infrastructure improvements. Parking revenue is drawn from residents and visitors alike, both of whom can benefit from the improvements, whereas other sources such as homestead property taxes are borne solely by residents.
“We will be back to you very soon to discuss parking policy,” Weinberger told councilors.
That discussion won’t just be a review of current policy. The city is also pushing for Sunday meter enforcement after noon, something recommended in a 2015 consultant’s report but opposed by several councilors.
