Dean Says to Prepare For Budget Cuts

Mayor Karl Dean told Metro Department heads that they should prepare to cut their budgets anywhere from 5 to 15 percent.

At the Downtown Library today Dean kicked off the budget process for the fiscal year beginning in July. He says revenues are projected to be lower, but he’s not sure yet which departments will be cut if at all.

“One of the things we have to do as a city is we have to have a balanced budget. We have to have a budget that protects the long-term financial interests of this city. So this is a process where I don’t know what the cuts will be, or if there will necessarily be cuts, but I’m assuming there will be some given the tightness of the economic situation, but we have to go through a thoughtful exercise to make sure we’re looking at all options.”

Dean has also asked that departments estimate their costs through the end of this fiscal year, to make sure the city will have enough money to fund the current budget.

Dean’s budget has to be presented by March to Metro Council members, who then have the final say on what priorities are funded. That makes it difficult for departments like Metro Schools to accurately assess their budgets.

Assistant Superintendent Chris Henson says they won’t know what the state share of education funding will be until May, when the state legislature gets close to passing its budget.

“We’re hoping we can begin with a baseline budget where we can start at the same place we are currently, and then anything over an above that, as we’ve done for the last couple of years provide some kind of prioritized, unfunded priority listing.”

Henson says the school district will need at least 20 to 25 million new dollars next year to maintain its current level of services. Metro Schools account for about a third of the city’s 1.57 billion dollar budget.

This is the second budget cycle since voters passed a charter amendment in 2006, requiring the budget to be presented to Council members earlier in the year giving the legislative body more time to review the mayor’s proposal.