Lebanon 2016 City Budget

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The following spreadsheet details how the Grand Total amount of $16,175,600 for the proposed 2016 City of Lebanon budget is a whopping 36 percent more than the $11,877,786 Grand Total for the 2013 approved budget even though Lebanon’s population today is just about the same as in 2013: 

It is past time to initiate at least some small degree of fiscal restraint by cutting $108,272 (or 0.67 percent) from Lebanon’s proposed 2016 budget so the 2016 budget is no more than the $16,067,328 Grand Total amount in the 2015 budget. Keeping Lebanon’s 2016 budget Grand Total the same as the 2015 budget Grand Total should break the Taxpayer UNfriendly string of seven straight years with Lebanon municipal property tax rate increases that total an alarming 93 percent: see http://www.finplaneducation.net/lebanon_tax_rates.htm.

Cutting $108,272 from Lebanon’s proposed 2016 budget will not impact the three percent 2016 salary increase for city employees. The following modest 2016 budget cuts are proposed:
$ 30,000 City Council Attorney (see Comment #1)
$ 35,000 Clerk-Treasurer Attorney (see Comment #1)
$ 18,782 Planning & Zoning Assistant Building Inspector (see Comment #2)
$ 24,490 City Hall Health Insurance Premium (see Comment #3)
$108,272 TOTAL

Comment #1. City Council and Clerk-Treasurer Attorneys. Having more than one attorney to serve the city’s needs is poor public policy. Lebanon’s proposed 2016 budget for the Mayor includes $65,000 for a City Attorney. Individual City Council members and the Clerk-Treasurer should not have taxpayer money automatically available for additional attorneys to sue the Mayor or each other should they have an ax to grind. The $30,000 set aside for a City Council attorney and the $35,000 allocated for a Clerk-Treasurer attorney are hard-earned tax dollars that should instead be spent on the city’s real needs like important infrastructure improvements. The City Council should make the Taxpayer Friendly decision to remove from the 2016 proposed budget the ill-advised $30,000 for the City Council attorney and $35,000 for the Clerk-Treasurer attorney.

Comment #2. Planning & Zoning Assistant Building Inspector. Lebanon’s local unsafe building ordinances are being enforced better than ever by the Lebanon Fire Department (LFD) without additional cost and unwarranted invasions of privacy. Annual LFD inspections of apartment buildings and residences with two or more rental units are being accomplished using existing personnel without having to impose additional rental inspection fees that can be passed along to renters. In spite of the increased LFD inspections to frugally enforce the unsafe building ordinances, Lebanon’s proposed 2016 budget includes changing the Assistant Building Inspector in the Planning & Zoning Department from a part time to a full time position, with a salary increase from $21,218 to $40,000. The Assistant Building Inspector is not needed to duplicate the apartment inspections performed by the LFD, and this position should therefore remain a part time position saving taxpayers $18,782 in 2016 salary.

Comment #3. City Hall Health Insurance Premium. The Clerk-Treasurer stated at the July 30 budget work session that the $1,500,000 line item for the 2016 Health Insurance Premium can be cut to $1,353,000. Cutting $24,490 from the 2016 Health Insurance Premium would leave a prudent amount of $1,475,510 to cover the 2016 Health Insurance Premium costs.

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This page was last updated on 11/08/15 .