Table of Contents - Unified Government of Wyandotte County ...

The policy guidelines were developed during a series of Strategic planning sessions. Those guidelinesas adopted by the Commission are:2013 Budget Policy Guidelines• Reduce Property Taxes: Property tax rates must be reduced over the near future term throughincremental and sustainable reductions eventually bringing Unified Government rates tocompetitive levels of other Kansas communities. Maintaining the current property tax rate for2013 is acceptable.• Restore Fund Balances: To reach the government’s stated financial objectives and maintainstrong credit ratings.• Reduce Debt: Funding annual projects on a pay-as-you-go basis is a long term objective.• Employee Compensation: Address employee compensation issues across the board for bothemployees represented by organized labor and non-union employees.• Core Services: Maintain core services at adequate levels in most efficient way possible.• Commission Priorities: Broad service or employee reductions are not acceptable in 2013.• Casino Revenues: Budget conservatively until revenue trends emerge.• Commission Neighborhood Infrastructure Program (C-NIP): Implement through planning in2012 and construction in 2013.• Reserve Funds: Restore money borrowed from the Environmental and Health Insurance Fundson an incremental basis over next 5-7 years.• Outside Agencies: Analyze funding and adjust to appropriate levels.Implementing these guidelines requires changing the business as usual approach to budgeting andoperations. It means working smarter and more effectively through innovation, technology andprioritizing services and programs. The successful implementation of these guidelines over time is alsocontingent on continuing the economic growth in the community. Creating a budget and policies whichencourage more development, more new jobs and more new housing are critical.The 2013 Proposed Unified Government Budget lays the groundwork for accomplishing those goals.This proposed budget is a Strategic Vision for Financial Stability and Community Success.History of the Financial LandscapeThe national and local economies are showing small signs of improvement, but the lingering negativeeffects of the recession are keeping a faster recovery out of reach. Since the Great Recession beganin late 2007, local governments across the nation have laid off public workers, cut services, raisedtaxes and fees, privatized or consolidated services and taken other measures to trim their budgets tothe bone.In fiscal 2010, the most recent year for which Census data was available, local governments lost 2.6percent of their state aid and 2.5 percent of their property tax revenue - or nearly $25 billion altogether -from the prior year according to a study by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The property tax revenue dropwas the largest in three decades according to the Pew study.