Kelly Decker's Decade Long Budget Project
His focus on restoring the fund balance paid off, for now at least
Under Mayor Kelly Decker’s guidance, this past decade has been a period of tending the City of Port Jervis fund balance—the city’s reserve of unspent money and extra revenue. After Decker was elected, he announced the need for belt-tightening by taxpayers. The fund balance had been shrinking, as insufficient city revenue necessitated either raising taxes or using the fund balance to pay bills. Previously, probably to avoid raising taxes and the accompanying resident displeasure, city administrations often resorted to using the fund balance to pay bills. So reserves eroded to precarious levels.
To stabilize the budget, Decker regularly oversaw tax hikes, including the latest increase of 4.16 % that would mean an average of about five dollars more per month for taxpayers, he said.
Decker recently described the resulting budget progression during his administration.
“My first budget was in 2015,” he said. “The audited financials of 2015 showed the following: The City's total fund balance at the end of the year was $834,705. Our last completed audit for 2022 showed the fund balance to be $2,947,076 or 17.9% of total General Fund expenditures. Having anywhere between 15 - 20% fund balance is expected for a healthy municipality and certainly helps avoid anticipation notes that the city would need to pay interest on as we did for the first few years of my administration. So, as I say, it is healthy. But should the current economic inflation continue, that might be reduced with unexpected expenses.”
Port Jervis City Clerk Treasurer Laura Quick identified the sources of increased taxes as contractual obligations, such as health insurance, union percentage increases, large increases in retirement contribution and electricity cost hikes. Also police department overtime increased significantly—from $355,000 last year to $430,000.
“Police budget overtime increased due to the fact that two officers have been out on disability for an extended period of time,” Decker said, “and it’s not like they can be replaced by a part timer to fill in. This should reset itself in 2024 as long as there are no other issues.”
The budget recently passed is Decker’s last, as a new mayor and Common Council arrive in January.
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