Council members discussed possible expenditures using the 2009 fiscal year budget surplus at last night’s meeting. Photo by Iram Shaikh.
The Charlottesville City Council discussed possible appropriations using the 2009 fiscal year budget surplus and began to consider 2011 fiscal year budget guidelines last night.
During the 2009 fiscal year, expenditures were under budget by $5,049,993. Finance Director Bernard Wray suggested that $1,711,785 of the surplus be used for future programming through Neighborhood Capital Improvement Projects. Council Member Satyendra Huja agreed that shifting money to the CIP budget would be beneficial.
The looming possibility of a deficit in future years, though, complicates arguments related to the appropriation of surplus funds. Although the 2009 budget resulted in a surplus, citizens should not expect this scenario to repeat itself anytime in the near future. The Preliminary Projected Budget scenario predicts a 1.7 percent revenue shortage for the 2011 fiscal year, and this deficit could increase to as much as 6.3 percent by 2015.
One reason for this forecasted negative trend is the fact that the city does not expect to see an increase in tax revenue in coming years, said Leslie Beauregard, director of budget and performance management. As a result, some citizens might want to save the 2009 fiscal year surplus to cover “the projected hole in [the] budget,” Beauregard said.
She explained, though, that the year’s leftover funds represent a one-time expenditure and should be spent now to provide services and benefit current projects. Instead of using the surplus to compensate for expected shortfalls, Beauregard suggested that Council maintain its current economic downturn fund, which in the previous year totalled $2.8 million.
Beauregard also said the city should “submit budgets that are very flat” and not submit new requests, unless the proposed budgets are completely offset by new, unforeseen revenue streams.
Moving forward, she said the city’s budget office will continue to explore ways to reduce the budget, adding that it is “difficult to plan in a volatile economy.”
After Beauregard’s presentation, Charlottesville resident John Faults expressed his own concerns about the city’s fiscal state.
“The city has to propose a budget that is less than the expected revenues,” he said.
In response, Mayor Dave Norris acknowledged that Council faces a difficult task in terms of trimming expenditures without significantly impacting deliverable services.
“I know we have a lot of work ahead of us,” he said.
If the CD is going to try and act as a newspaper interested in the affairs of Charlottesville City government, make the effort and learn who the players are and obtain their correct names. It was John Pfaltz who appeared before the City Council. He was a candidate for the city governing body in 2000 and ran as a Republican. But what was newsworthy was his plea to the Council to consider shaving three cents off the current tax rate and the City Council’s response which is unknown, because no media present reported that.
Report this comment
Agree/Disagree:
0 
0
Ms. Gibson,
An important point that you neglect to mention in your comment is that Mr. Pfaltz (if we are talking about the same individual) is a professor emeritus of the University.
Let me a hazard a guess: you’re a CS major who had him as a professor and therefore you feel as if the salty waters of the Red
Report this comment
Agree/Disagree:
0 
0
First of all, Mr. Takalua, I am male. I recognize that many, if not most, spell the male variant Jesse these days, but I suppose when us “indentureds” landed at Jamestown, we didn’t spell too good…
As for Mr. Pfaltz, I cannot quibble over the relevancy of his emeritus status, considering I used his party affiliation. But in this story, it was relevant that he had run for City Council, and his membership in a political party is a matter of style, as in the AP Stylebook. I was an Interdisciplinary Studies type and never had Mr. Pfaltz.
The rest of your message was truncated, so please try again. Thanks.
Report this comment
Agree/Disagree:
0 
0
Based on the tone of your response, I’m guessing that I’m not the first individual to assume that you were female because of the way that it appears in print. I apologize for my assumption, but c’mon; you’re deflecting right now by going ad hominem.
I really don’t want to deflect myself, but “indentureds.” You don’t have the first clue about my family’s background and where I come from. You are flirting with insulting my family’s honor. That’s not something I take lightly.
Back to the article at hand, I don’t believe that Professor Pfaltz was mentioned at all. There may have been a tangential minor reference to him, but his name didn’t appear in the article at all. That’s why I’m baffled by your strong response and tone. The sentence of my previous comment left incomplete should’ve read as follows: “…you feel as if the salty waters of the Red Sea will never brush his sandals.” The illusions that I make there are pretty straightforward, so I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
The reason that I became involved in this discussion in the first place is that I’m familiar with some of your writing on the internet and you seem to mistake verbosity for quality content. I was an English undergraduate at the University so you’re writing doesn’t scare me. However, it is intimidating to the average reader.
-The sweetest Tongan to ever pick up a skateboard
Report this comment
Agree/Disagree:
0 
0
Joshua, I was referring to MY family. The first of them came to these shores in 1607, landing at Jamestown, and he was a 15-year-old, illiterate indentured servant and a bit uneducated. His first name was Jessie and that is how it was spelled, either by him or by Captain Smith. I’m sorry if my writing conveyed something other, as that was not my intention at all
My point was that Mr. Pfaltz – we do not address faculty as professors at the University – was at the City Council meeting last night and his comments were both misrepresented in the CD article and his identification missed basic journalistic standards. The focus of his comments was to encourage the City Council to consider a tax rate reduction that would be beneficial to the taxpayer who, after all, is footing the bill. It often seems that those governing forget from whom the money comes, although one could presume that many in government making these decisions are taxpayers themselves. Still, reducing taxes comes with an energy akin to pulling hen’s teeth and often by more conservative voices.
Now, what about my writing appears labored or verbose. Any specific suggestions would be appreciated. I can be reached on your network. Thanks.
Report this comment
Agree/Disagree:
0 
0
Correction: If he was illiterate, he was probably more than a bit uneducated…sorry…
Report this comment
Agree/Disagree:
0 
0
Point taken. I’m glad we could flush that out.
Report this comment
Agree/Disagree:
0 
0
Since when did they allow the descendants of indentureds into this fine university???
Report this comment
Agree/Disagree:
0 
0
After the indentured became governor of Bermuda…
Report this comment
Agree/Disagree:
0 
0
Of all the things the city of Charlottesville and Albemarle County can do with their funds over the next decade, none could have the impact that a light rail system and/or bicycling lanes would.
In a world where Americans import all of the oil for our SUVs and sports cars from Venezuela and various Arab states the see us as the “Great Satan”, all the while becoming the fattest country on Earth because we drive right up to the door of wherever we are going, something has to give.
Public, green transportation and an end to sprawl is the future of this country and Charlottesville is shockingly behind the times in this regard. There was a good article in The Hook a couple years back about all the options, but one thing seems certain: Charlottesville will choose “none of the above” for as long as it can possibly do so.
http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2007/02/22/COVER-streetcar-salzman-G.rtf.aspx
Report this comment
Agree/Disagree:
0 
0