by Kimberly Adams
TRINIDAD — Gabriel Engeland is only a month-and-a-half into his new position as Trinidad City Manager, and he is wasting no time getting down to business with the budget, and clearing up community rumors.
The city started off the 2015 budget cycle with $8.7 million of operating revenue in the General Fund. Total expenditures in the General Fund is $900,000 over the operating revenue amount, according to summaries in the adopted Trinidad City Budget in December 2014. With the gap between expenditures and revenues encompassing 10 percent of the total city budget, the city is not conducting business that is sustainable.
“The budget deficit we face is serious, but we are not in a crisis,” Engeland emphasized April 9 at a city-wide meeting held at the Trinidad Community Center.
“If we don’t act now, the structural deficit will cause a disruption of services to our citizens, businesses and visitors, and the city will be left without any reserve funds to respond to emergencies, opportunities, or unforeseen changes in the local economy,” Engeland told media members at city hall prior to the meeting.
As it stands, the city is depleting its cash reserves at a rapid rate. Ten percent of the city’s General Fund is cash reserve that began the year with $921,000. Because the city is spending the reserve money to make ends meet, the 2015 budget year will close with an estimated $20,000 in cash left in the coffers.
“That’s pretty substantial considering 13 percent of our entire budget is property tax, so we’re spending almost as much out of our bank account as we collect in property tax,” Engeland said.
The budget deficit is coming at a cost to city infrastructure. For instance, utility revenues from water are going into the General Fund as opposed to going back into infrastructure, Engeland explained. Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) are canceled for this budget year. Trinidad has committed to approximately $3.7 million dollars in CIP’s which is $1.2 million over what the city has in the bank, Engeland reported.
“Over a long period of time we’ve been finding ways to prop up our general fund operations, and it’s coming at the expense of investment in the community, investment in infrastructure, and investment in economic development,” Engeland said.
City voters passed ordinances last November that allow the city to extend the city sales tax one percent with revenues going for CIP’s. A separate five percent marijuana retail sales tax was also voter approved. Both went into effect January 1, 2015.
In an attempt to save the city $200,000, city staff are making immediate changes. One of is merging the City Parks and Boulevards Department with Street and Bridge and cross-training the affected employees. “This makes the organization more flexible and responsive, while also reducing the need for overtime,” Engeland said.
Internal personnel changes are being made for those who work for the City of Trinidad. No layoffs of any sort will take place, the city manager assured the estimated 150 people who attended the meeting at the community center. Former positions of the few city staff that recently were granted promotions will not be refilled which is estimated to save $125,000 in salaries. Another internal change is making the end of vacation buy down option for affected employees, saving the city $75,000.
“It may not the most efficient way of restructuring, but it keeps people employed,” Engeland said.”
As part of an effort for communication between the city of Trinidad and its citizens to be transparent, the city manager’s office holds open office hours Thursdays at city hall from 10 – 11 am.
