Given the economic climate and the hard financial situation many cities are finding themselves in Burien City Manager Mike Martin said Burien is doing just fine.
Burien is expecting general fund revenues of $41 million and expenditures of $40 million. Even with the additional costs of annexation, the city is expecting to have a $500,000 greater general fund ending balance than this year.
This year's ending general fund balance is estimated to be approximately $2.5 million, the general fund ending balance in 2011 is estimated to be approximately $3 million.
Interim Finance Director Gary Coleman told the council during a budget presentation the city will see a significant jump in the percentage of revenue coming from property tax next year, as most of the property in the annexed area is residential.
Twenty-eight percent of the city’s total revenues, $11.5 million come from property tax. The largest percentage of the city’s revenue comes from sales tax, which accounts for 29 percent of the city’s total revenue.
In an opening letter to the recently released proposed Burien budget for 2011-2012 Martin said the city has maintained a 10 percent “rainy-day fund.”
For the last two years, Burien employees have not received a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to help maintain the city’s budget during a difficult economy.
This year, Martin is recommending employees receive a one percent cost of living increase. Depending on the financial picture next year, Martin is tentatively planning that employees will receive a two percent increase for the following year.
Martin is also recommending allocating $50,000 a year for the next two years to study the feasibility of creating a city police department, instead of contracting with King County.
Police, jail and court expenses currently take 54 percent of the general fund budget. Martin wants to find out whether having the police come in house would be a better financial situation.
The contract for police through King County goes up approximately five percent each year.
At $21 million a year, nearly all of the city’s revenues from property and sales tax go to funding public safety.
Martin is also recommending the creation of another senior planner position. In his letter to the council, he said the cost for the additional planner would be completely offset by a reduction in professional services expenditures.
Part of the new planner's job would be to work on new projects in North Burien.
After the annexation, Burien’s population is now 46,022 people. This is a 62.9 percent increase in growth since the city’s incorporation in 1993.
