Indianapolis Mayor, Greg Ballard, released his proposed 2009 budget on Monday. He's managed to balance the budget this year in light of a significant decrease in property tax revenues. There are a few things to note. There are some increases to the budgets for Public Safety, Public Works and Metropolitan Development. There is a nearly $100 million decrease in the budget for the "Division of Family and Children" which I need to look into further. This decrease alone allows for the budget to balance all else being equal.
The real story may be what's next for 2010. As I mentioned in a previous post, Ballard has stated publicly (and it is reaffirmed in this budget document) that tax revenues will decrease even further in 2010 due to the property tax reform. It looks to be a hole of about $60 million. We'll keep an eye on this...
P.S. - Follow-up (8/13): The state government has taken on the burden of the $100 million of child welfare referenced above. It was part of the property tax reform legislation passed earlier this year. Read the press release here.
No comments:
Post a Comment