The proposed FY1998 Annual Operating Plan reflects an on-going commitment to enhance the quality of life for the City's residents and ensure that visitors and commuters alike enjoy a pleasant stay. In so doing, many of the programs funded in this year's plan combine an emphasis on public safety with additional programs to provide stability and enhance the vitality of City neighborhoods.
In the area of public safety, the operating budget includes funds to increase the City's number of commissioned police officers to a total of 1,723. With the continued commitment of City and federal grant funds, the City will have increased its authorized uniform police force by nearly 175 officers over the past four years. In response to the long time problem of jail overcrowding and the resulting expenses associated with housing prisoners in outstate facilities, the City has enacted legislation allowing for the construction of a 732 bed Justice Center. The new Justice Center will replace the old 228 bed City Jail. With design of the new facility nearly complete, the Justice Center is expected to be constructed and operating by the year 2000. The budget for FY1998 includes the first full year of debt payments on the new facility.
The FY1998 operating plan incorporates the shift of management of the City's $7.6 million Emergency Medical Services (EMS) operation from the Department of Health and Hospitals to the Fire Department. The Fire Department will also add three fire equipment dispatchers to address the increase in calls resulting from its first responder program. It is anticipated that the combined EMS and Fire Department operations will provide a more effective EMS service and a potential for operational efficiencies.
In FY1998, the City's judicial offices will be working to implement a state initiative to computerize the Circuit Court system. Known as "Electronic Court - 2004", the Circuit Court will be allocating funds for the purchase of computer hardware, software and training in support of this effort. Public safety capital needs will be addressed even more thoroughly later in the year when the City seeks to obtain voter approval for a public safety bond issue to update fire fighting equipment and firehouses along with other initiatives.
The neighborhood stabilization effort will be bolstered with the development of a new Forestry Division program aimed at cleaning vacant lots and alleys on a cyclical basis. The FY1998 plan continues funding of an ambitious abandoned building demolition program. When coupled with the intensified effort to clean sweep the City on a cyclical basis, these two programs should provide citizens with visible and tangible evidence of the City's neighborhood stabilization efforts.
FY1998 marks the beginning of a new waste disposal contract that will result in a 28% reduction in the per ton cost of waste disposal and a savings of nearly $2.0 million in tipping fees alone. Most of the existing City composting operation will be assumed by the new operator thus enabling City personnel to be reassigned to the cyclical debris program.
The Capital Improvement budget contains an increase in the amount of funds for paving arterial streets and purchasing of equipment for the purpose of improved service delivery. Certain funds available as a result of gaming activity are programmed for capital improvements on the riverfront such as street widening and repair, as well as the provision of additional street lights. Most other gaming revenues will again be directed to neighborhoods by virtue of being a source of citywide capital improvement funds. Typically, these funds go to assist in the effort to resurface arterial streets and to purchase new equipment. Residents will continue to see benefits in their neighborhoods resulting from the allocations of the capital improvements sales tax. The City's wards will be allocated a total of $8.75 million divided equally among the wards for various improvements to be determined by the ward alderman.
The FY1998 budget includes funding for the final year of a three-year pay plan for commissioned police officers and firefighters along with the final year of a two-year pay plan for civil service and other City employees. Also addressed in the budget are future commitments related to funding a reserve account in anticipation of the 27th pay and contributions to the Retirement Systems as requested by the boards of the respective systems.
During the fiscal year, Lambert International Airport will continue work on the expansion of the East Terminal. The 234,000 square foot expansion represents the largest ever at the Airport and will add twelve more gates to the facility. Aside from personnel increases in the Police Department, the Airport expansion will be the only area where a significant number of new jobs will be added. The new jobs will be mainly in the areas of custodial and maintenance services.
SummaryIn summary, the total budget appropriation for FY1998 is $622.6 million. Over 50%, or $346.7 million, is appropriated from general revenue to pay for day-to-day City operations. City general funds are supplemented by approximately $40 million in grants from State and Federal Sources. The remainder of the budget comes from a variety of special and enterprise funds maintained by the City in compliance with specific ordinances or agreements. In total, these City funds play an important role in promoting the vitality of the local economy by providing essential services and maintaining an infrastructure that increases the productivity of local labor and capital. These services and infrastructure will help to promote growth in economic activity, which will in turn produce jobs and income.
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Total funds available for appropriation for FY1998 are $347.3 million. This represents a 2.6 percent increase over the FY1997 estimate. The forecasted revenues are based on several factors, including consistent growth of both the earnings and payroll taxes, as well as increases in gross receipts based license fees. Sales tax growth has slowed during the current year and the FY1998 forecast calls for growth of about 2% over revised FY1997 estimates. Intergovernmental reviews are expected to remain at the current year level, with gains from motor vehicle sales taxes and the state gasoline tax offsetting the decline in reimbursements for health care. The following chart shows major sources of funds for FY1998.
The General Fund budget for FY1998 maintains its emphasis on safety and quality of life issues, and allocates funds for increases in certain fixed costs and contractual obligations. Service levels for most departments will remain unchanged from the previous year. One notable exception is the initiation of a cyclical vacant lot and alley clean up program by the Forestry Division. The budget also provides for police and firefighter pay raises of 2 and 4 percent plus pay matrixes step increases and for a 2 percent cost of living adjustment for other City employees at a total cost of about $4.1 million and $2.2 million respectively. Notable increases in the general fund budget include a contribution to the 27th pay reserve of $500,000, funding for facility preservation costs at the Convention Center in the amount of $1 million, and $1.5 million in debt service payments. Helping to offset a portion of the budget increase, is a decrease of approximately $1.7 million in the cost of tipping fees for refuse disposal and a net $700,000 reduction in Board of Election costs for a non-election year.
Projected Operating Results
Based on the projected revenues and appropriations discussed above, we expect to end fiscal year FY1998 with a general fund operating balance of approximately $550,000. The FY1997 operating balance is currently projected at $6.0 million. With one-half of this amount going to the Capital Fund, at the end of FY1998 the City's unreserved general fund balance will be at approximately $10.8 million or about 3.1% of the FY1998 General Fund Budget.
| Estimated Revenue and Other Funds | $347,297,000 |
| General Fund Appropriation | $346,748,458 |
| Estimated Excess of Revenue over Appropriation | $ 548,542 |
The City of St. Louis' Capital Committee has proposed a five-year-capital improvement plan that totals $168 million. The City's FY1998 capital budget funds this first year of this plan with a recommended appropriation of $33.5 million. The one-half cent sales tax for capital improvements will generate $17.5 million this fiscal year, comprising slightly more than half of the total FY1998 capital budget. The balance of the FY1998 capital budget includes $2.8 million from gaming revenues, $7.2 million in general fund transfers, and $6 million from other sources.
Capital improvement projects planned for FY1998 include road and bridge improvement projects, neighborhood stabilization projects, and facility improvements and equipment replacement. Highlights of the capital budget include:
The remainder of this budget document is divided into the following sections:
Budget Overview: This section provides a more detailed discussion of the City's projected revenues and expenditures. The discussion includes an overall economic outlook for the City and includes summary tables illustrating projected revenues and appropriations for all funds.
Department and Program Budgets: This section is divided by major City departments. Each department begins with a summary of budget statistics and is followed by division and program budgets within each department. The division and program budgets are presented in a format that contains narrative information about respective programs and identifies outputs and projected performance levels.
Capital Improvements: The City's FY1998 Capital Budget and Capital Improvement Plan are presented in this section. A detailed discussion of the five year plan and description for each capital project are being submitted under a separate cover.
Appendix: The appendix includes supplemental information about the City and its budget including debt issues, the budget process, trends in personnel, etc.