Budget City staff will make a presentation tonight that includes the implications of a two-cent decrease to the tax rate

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Reid Southwick
Telegraph-Journal

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SAINT JOHN - City staff will make a presentation to common council tonight that will answer some major questions that have emerged from recent budget discussions - including the implications of a modest property tax cut.

The politicians will learn whether the city has improved efficiency in city services, why the city has the highest tax rate and what the 2009 budget would look like should council hold the line on the tax rate.

Council will also have an opportunity to give staff more direction before it prepares the city's budget.

"Staff would hope that this discussion with council will provide further insight into the financial realities facing our community," city manager Terry Totten writes in a brief letter to council.

The presentation will come after council passed a motion last month that asked four city managers to report on the employee supervision and evaluation practices in their departments.

The city manager, common clerk, city solicitor and finance commissioner must either endorse their current practices or recommend new ones to make sure the city is being run efficiently and effectively.

Coun. Gary Sullivan, who spearheaded the motion, has said he is "not confident" the city is run efficiently across all departments.

When municipal operations commissioner Paul Groody presented his proposed budget for 2009 last month, he said any spending cuts would lead to a reduction in services.

But when Sullivan asked Groody whether the department has a quality control process that ensures the city's funds are spent wisely on work that's done in the appropriate amount of time with the appropriate number of personnel, he replied, "we're not there yet."

Tonight's presentation will also come after council passed a separate motion asking the city manager to draft budget documents that reflect a tax rate cut of two cents from the current rate of $1.79 for every $100 of assessed property. Totten will fulfill this request only after city departments have presented their budgets, all of them asking for more money.

In fact, city staff began budget deliberations by informing council it will have to hike the property tax rate by nine cents should it approve all funding requests. Staff estimated the city's budget would balloon by more than 10 per cent, from about $119 million to a little more than $131.7 million, if it OK'd all requests.

Council meets at 5 p.m. in their chambers. Other items on its agenda include:

Totten will make a presentation titled: 'how best can council and staff work to move our community forward?' The presentation will include a profile of the city's management team and a review of the team's record. Totten will also comment on performance reviews and five-year contracts for the city manager, among other topics.

Coun. Bill Farren will submit a motion that asks city staff for its plans to repair pot holes in the spring. Staff has previously said it can only repair pot holes with cold-mix asphalt until asphalt plants open for the summer work season, Farren writes in his motion. The west-side councillor wants the city's pot hole repair plan to include the use of hot-mix asphalt with existing equipment or with the purchase of new equipment.