Ione – The Ione City Council is scheduled to hold a workshop today on its current fiscal year budget, and will look at ways to close the gap on an expected $700,000 deficit. The council will discuss the proposed 2009-2010 budget from 3 to 5 p.m. today in a workshop at City Hall. Adoption could come after a public hearing October 6th. In a report last week, City Manager Kim Kerr told the council that “staff has been working on the budget” and “monitoring impacts from the state’s budget” to “ensure that the city can adopt a balanced budget.” Kerr said “the general fund is projected to have a deficit of $698,000.” She said staff is recommending balancing the general fund by transferring $200,000 from “gas tax,” $200,000 from “general fund reserves,” $120,000 from a Community Development Block Grant fund, $68,000 from the Amador Regional Sanitation Authority fund, and $10,000 from Local Traffic Mitigation Fee Funds. Kerr said “overall, the city’s revenues are declining and expenses are increasing.” Ione lost $276,000 in property tax revenue, including $90,000 due to a county assessment change. The state took 8 percent of the city’s property taxes, or $54,904, and the state could take 8 percent of vehicle license fees in lieu of property taxes, an expected $66,953 reduction. Kerr said “sales taxes are volatile and staff is projecting lower sales tax receipts” this year, with a $65,000 reduction expected. Increased expenses include a retirement contributions for police officers, a $100,000 increase over last year. Kerr said the city still needs to reduce the deficit by decreasing expenses, and she took a temporary cut of $12,545; the finance manager took a $7,357 cut; and the police chief took a $6,822 reduction. A city team is negotiating reductions with unions. Over the past year, the city cut costs by nearly $200,000 by reclassifying job positions or not filling vacancies. Expenses for the current year have been reduced in capital projects; and attorney, planning and engineering expenses. Kerr said the budget does not include five requests for funding from Amador County Chamber of Commerce at $1,000; Amador County Recreation Agency at $19,000; Amador Council of Tourism at $1,000; and the Ione Business and Community Association at $4,000. Kerr said “the budget does not project the costs for the wastewater project at this time,” and the “budget will need to be modified if the project is initiated before the end of the fiscal year.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.