Village Adopts Budget With 0% Increase In Tax Levy
By Meg Morgan Norris

The Garden City Board of Trustees voted not to raise the tax levy for the Village during the upcoming 2007-08 fiscal year, which begins April 1st. In order to do so, the Trustees decided to reduce the amount of money which the Village has been putting aside to pay possible increases in contributions to the state's retirement system.

The decision to reduce the retirement reserves had been suggested by the Citizen's Budget Review Committee, and came after a lengthy discussion. Other suggestions by the Committee were not adopted at this time. The Committee was originally proposed by Trustee John Watras to look at the way budgets are developed, and to make suggestions about how to change the process. It is composed of seven members: Chairman Roy Ryniker , Bob Sundius, Hugh McCay, Dan Donnelly, John Traxler, Don Phail and Andy Thaler.

According to Mr. Ryniker, who spoke at the monthly meeting of the Board, Garden City has put aside far more money for the retirement fund for employees than other municipalities around the state. He said the average funding is at 4% while Garden City is at 50%.

Trustee John Mauk replied that he is very concerned about reducing funding because Village Auditor Jim Olivo had advised the board that there might be problems in the future when the state requires increased funding. He pointed out that the Moody's investment service had given Garden City an excellent bond rating in part because of its high reserves.

In the end, the Board accepted that suggestion from the Budget Committee. However, other suggestions were not accepted. In particular, the Committee wanted the Board to adopt the same budget as the 2005-06 fiscal year, and place any estimated increases into a surplus account. Under this plan, Village department heads would have to come to the Board for quarterly assessments, to justify any spending above the budgeted amount.

Outgoing mayor Gerard Lundquist commented that he appreciates the committee's expertise, but also has a great deal of faith in the Village's professional staff. He noted that much of the discussion was philosophical in nature, and that the Board would continue to consider the ideas of the Committee.

Village Auditor Jim Olivo reminded the Board that they had a statutory duty to pass a line item budget in time for the new fiscal year.

Mayor-elect Peter Bee commented that some suggestions from the committee have been warmly received by the Board, and others less so, but that the Board appreciates them and will continue to pursue many of the suggestions.

At the end of the evening, the board passed a budget of $53,703,458. Due to the reduction in the retirement reserve, this means that the tax levy (the total amount of taxes collected village-wide) will not increase. However, changes in assessments, both individual and between property classes, could mean that individual tax bills may vary.