Lebanon 2015 City Budget

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On October 14, 2014, Lebanon City Council members Keith Campbell, John Copeland, Mike Kincaid, Lana Kruse, Jeremy Lamar, Steve Large, and Preston Myers unanimously passed the Taxpayer UNfriendly 2015 Lebanon City Budget.

Please send an E-mail to taxless3@comcast.net if you wish to receive a PDF copy of the 23 spreadsheet pages that were prepared on September 19, 2014, by the Lebanon Clerk-Treasurer detailing the 2015 Lebanon City Budget.

On April 27, 2015, the Lebanon City Council passed Ordinance Number 2015-07 to fix the 2015 salaries of certain city employees. This ordinance is very misleading when it comes to identifying the number of employees in the Mayor’s Office.

When Huck Lewis was selected Lebanon Mayor in 2009, there was one employee in the Mayor’s Office – an Executive Assistant. One has to really understand the “nuances” of the Lebanon city budget to identify that there are now five employees in the Mayor’s Office. The number of employees in the Mayor’s Office has increased 400 percent during the time the city population has increased less than one percent!

Ordinance Number 2015-07 lists the following three employees in the Mayor’s Office:
Executive Assistant for a $38,610 salary,
Receptionist for a $30,000 salary,
Security for a $20,000 salary.
NOTE: The Security employee is paid an additional $20,000 by Lebanon Utilities.

Ordinance Number 2015-07 lists a Project & Grant Administrator under the Sanitation Department for a $33,094 salary. This employee, who works part time three days a week, actually reports to Mayor Lewis.

Ordinance Number 2015-07 lists a Communications & Community Development Director under Riverboat Casino for a $57,000 salary. This employee actually reports to Mayor Lewis.

Mayor Lewis is the Legislative Director for the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns. Perhaps he would need fewer employees if he spent more time doing his mayor job instead of taking the lead on such Taxpayer UNfriendly IACT initiatives as fighting tooth and nail to defeat needed state law reforms that would limit involuntary municipal annexations.

When one considers the dramatic increase in the number of employees in Mayor Lewis’ office, it is no wonder that the spreadsheet below shows that the total city property tax rate has steadily increased 57.13% the past five years. Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, has increased only 10.50% – the city’s total property tax rate has increased more than five times the rate of inflation. The city’s population has not grown, while the percent of Lebanon school students receiving free or reduced-price lunches has grown to 43.6%.

The spreadsheet below shows how the proposed 2015 city budget is 22.23% more than the 2014 city budget. It stands to reason that the proposed 2015 city budget will generate yet another increase in the city’s total property tax rate.

It is Taxpayer UNfriendly for the families of those Lebanon school children receiving free or reduced price lunches, and for Lebanon senior citizens on fixed incomes, to be subjected to an ever-increasing property tax burden caused by excessive budget increases.

The proposed 2015 city budget should have been reduced so there will be no property tax rate increase. The eight budget reduction suggestions listed next could have been a good starting point to changing the proposed 2015 budget from Taxpayer UNfriendly to Taxpayer Friendly.

(1) Reduce the salary increases for the Mayor and the two Deputy Clerk-Treasurers from 5 percent to 3 percent. These three persons are no more deserving of a merit increase than the other city employees who will receive an across-the-board 3 percent salary increase.

(2) Hire a part-time Clerk in the Mayor’s office instead of a new full-time Clerk. There would be no employee benefits paid to the part-time Clerk while it is being determined if the part-time Clerk is sufficient to meet the needs of the office without hiring another full-time Clerk.

(3) Hire a part-time Deputy Clerk-Treasurer instead of a new full-time Deputy Clerk-Treasurer. There would be no employee benefits paid to the part-time Deputy Clerk-Treasurer. Also, it might be determined that the part-time Deputy Clerk-Treasurer is not needed if payroll duties are outsourced to the private sector.

(4) Reduce the pay increase for the two Board of Works members from 52 percent to 3 percent. A 52 percent increase would result in each Board of Works member being paid $1,200. If a Board of Works member spends 24 hours a year in Board of Works meetings, then the member is paid $50 an hour – this seems high.

(5) The budget for supplies and parts to repair park buildings and playground equipment has increased from $14,000 in 2013 to $115,000 for both 2014 and 2015. It appears the 2015 budget can be reduced.

(6) Cancel the unneeded Indianapolis Avenue “gateway” roundabouts project. This would reduce Cumulative Capital Development spending by $1,366,477 next year and $1,138,475 in future years. The need for a future CCD property tax rate increase should be eliminated without the extravagant Indianapolis Avenue project.

(7) The 54% increase in the Health Insurance Premium from $1,036,000 to $1,600,000 is excessive. It appears that the 2015 Health Insurance claims are projected to be $856,000 with a maximum payout of $1,549,000. If you keep the 2015 Health Insurance Premium at $1,036,000, there will be less need for a General Fund property tax rate increase. Should 2015 Health Insurance claims exceed $1,036,000, additional requests using the city’s ample reserves can make up the difference. Projected 2015 cash balances appear to be $3,800,000 in the General Fund and $1,600,000 in the Rainy Day Fund.

(8) Instead of hiring three new Police Officers next year, follow the Police Chief’s original request and hire one new Police Officer each of the next three years. Also, instead of including a new full-time security officer for the Municipal Building in the Mayor’s budget for next year – it seems peculiar to give the Mayor a one-person police force of his own – assign next year’s new Police Officer to the Municipal Building. All city police and security personnel should be under the professional supervision of the Police Department.

In conclusion, the proposed 2015 city budget should have been reduced so there will be no 2015 property tax rate increase.

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This page was last updated on 10/10/15 .