Cieslewicz directs freezes, cuts
0:14 AM 7/29/03
Dean Mosiman City government reporter

Now that state aid cuts are clear, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz wants to tighten the city's already strained budget.

And Cieslewicz concedes he won't repeat Mayor Sue Bauman's lowering of city taxes on the average home this year.

In a message to managers Monday, Cieslewicz asked the police and fire departments to prepare budgets with no spending increases for 2004. Other agencies must propose 2 percent cuts.

Cieslewicz also asked managers to prioritize any proposals for possible extra spending.

"I'm after a balance" between service cuts and increasing property taxes, he said.

A spending freeze will challenge the police and fire departments, which usually get substantial increases, about $1.8 million apiece from 2002 to 2003.

It's unclear if a flat budget can meet rising costs and expectations, Police Chief Richard Williams said.

Cieslewicz will deliver money to open and staff a northeast fire station in the second half of 2004.

"The Fire Department is very pleased with the mayor's decision to open Station 11," Chief Debra Amesqua said, promising to work with the firefighters union to find savings.

Other agencies face cuts.

A 2 percent decrease, for example, would cost the Streets Division $369,000, the Parks Division $254,000 and Madison Metro transit system $169,000.

"We have to look at service cuts and fee options, and we also have to look at contracting out," Streets Superintendent Roger Goodwin said.

City workers may need to stop graffiti cleanup, stump grubbing and litter pickup programs, Goodwin said. "I guarantee you'll notice it," he said.

The biggest challenge for the Parks Division is more delay in opening parks in new neighborhoods, Superintendent Jim Morgan said.

"We have two dozen undeveloped park sites," he said. "It's hard to expand service levels with shrinking revenues."

The city's budget process is just starting. After agencies offer individual plans, Cieslewicz will propose a city operating budget on Oct. 7, followed by City Council review and a November vote.

In the last budget, Bauman used money from growth, the state and other sources to beef up services and cut taxes on the average home for the first time in decades.

The city remains in sound financial shape with significant reserves, but revenues are being cut and costs continue to rise.

The state cut the city's shared revenue payment $2.2 million, child-care payments about $1.3 million and froze road aid, comptroller Dean Brasser said. Meanwhile, the city faces new labor contracts, rising health-care costs, a $900,000 jump in retirement contributions, and $1.3 million in added debt service, he said.

Cieslewicz has already moved to control spending, finding $1.3 million in savings in the current budget that will continue into next year. He also delayed $4.5 million in borrowing this year, which will save $600,000 of debt service costs in 2004.

The mayor said he doesn't anticipate having enough money for big initiatives with Metro, low-cost housing or public health. "This is not the time to be launching new programs that cost a lot of money," he said.

Cieslewicz said he hopes to limit an increase in taxes on the average home, now $1,450, to the average increase of the last decade.

"I don't think it's realistic to deliver an actual cut in taxes two years in a row," he said.