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SeaTac Finance director Michael McCarty says the city's fiscal restraint has put them in a good position to withstand the financial difficulties the nation is experiencing.

At the Nov. 25 SeaTac City Council meeting, lawmakers approved the budget for 2009. It passed 4-1 with Councilwoman Terry Anderson absent and Deputy Mayor Gene Fisher voting against.

The city continued its commitment to support human services, setting aside one and a half percent of the general fund expenditures for human service programs.

The budget also maintains current levels of service to the city.

"Years of fiscal restraint have built significant reserves that will be helpful in positioning us to weather the storm that everybody is feeling right now," McCarty said. "We are balancing increasing costs with slowing and decreasing revenue sources,"

The city plans to spend an estimated $60 million next year. This is approximately $4 million more than their estimated revenues. The gap was filled by using reserves.

Included in the 2009 budget is a six-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP), which combines plans for light rail programs with existing projects. The CIP will total nearly $60 million; $9.6 million of which was included in this budget.

Among projects being funded in 2009 are a water spray park at Valley Ridge Park and the completion of Fire Station #46.

McCarty said that while he feels the city's finances are doing well, officials need to remain aware of national and regional conditions effects on SeaTac's economy and be prepared to respond appropriately.

Fisher, who voted against the budget, warned that while the city's finances may be strong now, but if they aren't careful they could end up in a similar situation as King County.

"This city is in really really good shape," Fisher said. "But it has more to do than with the restraints. We are very conservative with our revenue. So we have always managed to keep going.

"That is not going to happen this time, the revenue that we are projecting. In fact I think it is going to be a lot less.

"I don't think we should continue to bet on the revenues coming in or we engineer a crisis that happened with the county."

Councilman Chris Wythe disagreed, saying that the reserves have helped the city. SeaTac cannot continue to hold onto the money just to have it. Wythe added.

"I think our reserves have been our strength," Wythe said. "But we are not a bank account. We are not going to hold the citizens' money, in a sense, hostage. I think it is time we start to release them into sidewalks and into the parks systems."