East Ridge Mayor Mike Steele held his head in his hands Thursday evening as the man beside him began to speak.
“The unaudited budget deficit for fiscal year 2010 has increased to $702,308,” Deputy City Manager Eddie Phillips said.
The large crowd groaned, but the mayor did not face them.
His constituents were used to hearing an in-the-red number looming around $657,000, which the mayor and other councilmen reported for weeks.
But in a tone appropriate for a eulogy, Phillips mentioned low sales tax collections that delivered the $44,566 knockout punch.
Phillips announced the city would absorb the East Ridge’s highest deficit in at least 20 years with money from the city’s “very strong” rainy-day fund, which will hold $3.3 million in its coffers after officials repair last year’s damage.
“It’s true that we need to do a better job of revenue projections during the year,” said Phillips, the deputy city manager.
Out of the city’s five councilmen, only Brent Lambert actively proposed cuts to balance the dim revenue future predicted by Phillips.
The council voted unanimously to eliminate $408,462 after Lambert finished a long list of suggestions, which included several unspecified “module decisions” made by recently-resigned city manager William Whitson.
As predicted by Steele, some of the cuts won’t be “easy.”
On the personnel side, the council will not hire a city manager until at least July 1, if at all, and two employees will lose their jobs – Finance Director Natalie Blackwell and executive secretary Judith Alvarez.
The city plans to modify its organizational structure accordingly with a “budget manager” and an “office assistant,” documents show.
Steele said Blackwell and Alvarez “are welcome” to apply for the created positions, both of which have a lower salary and take effect Oct. 1, a day after both of their current positions are no longer funded.
The council also approved a $28,000 pay cut to part-time City Attorney John Anderson, who was scheduled to make $118,000 in 2011.
Anderson received $132,000 during last fiscal year, records show.
In addition, East Ridge will be without $44,000 in budgeted Waterhouse Public Relations costs, $10,000 in Fall Festival expenses and $20,000 in “consultant fees.”
Councilmen also unanimously voted to nix $7,000 in administrative travel, $34,000 in engineering expenses and $15,000 in swimming pool funds.
An active participant throughout the evening, Councilman Denny Manning ensured that the city would not hire two art teachers for its schools, as requested by the Hamilton County Department of Education.
“I don’t think our city should pay for something we don’t own,” he said.
In one of the only budget additions of the night, Lambert brought some money back to city employees, whom Whitson promised a 2 percent raise that would have cost East Ridge about $104,000.
Instead of the raise, full-time employees will receive a $250 bonus and part-time workers will see a $100 bonus at an undetermined time, councilmen said.
“We were led to believe we could give employee raises,” Lambert said. “I don’t like the way that happened. The rug got jerked out from under them.”