City Manager Rorie Watt called on the Juneau Chamber of Commerce\u2019s weekly luncheon crowd to put a \u201cfull-court press\u201d on the state Legislature, not to force a turnover but to pass a sustainable budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you know a legislator\u2019s kid, and you\u2019re taking them to soccer practice, full-court press their kid, too; don\u2019t be ashamed about it,\u201d Watt said, eliciting laughter from his audience, which filled the Moose Lodge dining room Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n
The reasoning behind Coach Watt\u2019s call for a full-court press is simple: fiscal stability in the Capitol begets fiscal stability in City Hall. And, according to Watt, firm fiscal footing at the city level is important if the local economy is to thrive.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe budget is the fundamental underpinning of everything the city does. This is our vision document for the year,\u201d Watt said, waving a copy of the city\u2019s budget in the air.<\/p>\n
In order for the budget planning process to work as it should, the city has to be able to roughly predict its revenues and its expenditures for the coming year. That\u2019s tough to do when the state\u2019s deficit is dropped on the city at the last minute, which happened this past year.<\/p>\n
After the Legislature failed to pass a sustainable budget during the last session, Gov. Bill Walker used his veto pen to cut about $1.3 billion out of the state\u2019s budget. As a result, the city had to scramble to account for roughly $4.8 million in lost revenue.<\/p>\n
Though Watt said the city has done a good job planning ahead for tough times \u2014 building a budget reserve of about $16 million and available fund balance of $12 million \u2014 last-minute changes handed down from the state still hurt.<\/p>\n
Most of the $4.8 million deficit the state passed to the city came out of the available fund balance, which is now closer to $9 million.<\/p>\n
If the state were to continuously pass its budget shortfalls on to municipalities, the city might have to consider other revenue-raising measures, such as raising taxes or fees. And this, Watt told the chamber, wouldn\u2019t be in the best interest of businesses.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Contact reporter Sam DeGrave at 523-2279 or sam.degrave@juneauempire.com.<\/p>\n
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