Compromise restores 1 furlough day

The Waynesboro City Council agreed during a Wednesday work session to eliminate one of the two furlough days that city employees were to receive in City Manager Mike Hamp’s proposed fiscal year 2010 budget.

The council, after lengthy discussions, agreed to add $40,980, the expenses for one furlough day, back into the budget.

To pay for it, the council plans to use expense reductions related to tax relief and project grants in economic development and enterprise zone grants. About $12,000 will go into a reserve fund for tax relief.

And, after some discussion, council members agreed to leave in the budget the $48,400 in salary and benefits Hamp has proposed for a Parks and Recreation program coordinator, though he said he has no plans to hire anyone for the position at this time.

The rationale for reducing grant expenses, according to Budget Director Pat Nicosia, is that the city does not always receive grant applications.

“We may have technically held the money hostage in the budget and never needed to spend it, and cut something critical, only without knowing,” Nicosia said. “So council would come back, if there was grant applications, and decided it as an appropriation.”

The council will review in the third quarter of the 2010 fiscal year to determine whether the other furlough day can be eliminated.

Hamp said the city has seen improved sales tax revenues from mid-year budget forecasts, but that it’s not doing as well as the fiscal year 2009 budget projections.

“It’s good news, but it’s not great news,” Hamp said.

Nicosia told council members that there are indications from increasing tax revenue that the economy is improving. 

Mayor Tim Williams said during the discussions that he preferred to keep both furlough days in the budget, but added that he was willing to compromise.

Vice Mayor Frank Lucente said he wanted to eliminate both furlough days and using $32,000 in undesignated reserve funds to help pay for it.

Councilwomen Nancy Dowdy and Lorie Smith both said they oppose using undesignated reserve funds for operational purposes. Dowdy said she did not want either furlough day put back in the budget, while Smith favored leaving one furlough day in the budget.

During discussions on the program coordinator position, Councilmember Bruce Allen, a member of the Parks and Recreation board, said the department badly needed it. However, Dowdy said that it should not be in the budget and should be reviewed in a year.

Williams said he was comfortable letting Hamp monitor the position. The council, reaching a compromise, agreed.