SALT LAKE CITY — Presenting her first budget as mayor, Jackie Biskupski on Tuesday called for a 50 percent increase in road funding, a 1.25 percent pay raise for city employees and a parking ticket reprieve — all while battling the city's piling debt in a year of little revenue growth.
Salt Lake City's budget is "essentially flat," Biskupski said, noting that it increased a mere 1 percent in revenue growth since last year from roughly $255 million to $259 million.
Yet the first-year mayor said her budget is fiscally responsible, shows appreciation for city employees and begins to address long-term problems.
“Guided by policy and fiscal discipline, we will meet these goals without raising taxes or laying off employees, all while maintaining a relatively flat budget,” she said.
While some Salt Lake City Council members have pondered utilizing the 0.5 percent sales tax increase allowed by the state Legislature when construction starts on the new state prison in Salt Lake City, Biskupski said she's "not prepared to utilize the tax this year and would want public input before we moved in that direction."
Over the next four years, the mayor said, the city faces “hard truths” within its budget, challenged with paying lingering debts that have accrued over the past 20 years. A majority of the debt is in the city's capital improvement program, she said.
“While Salt Lake City maintains a AAA bond rating, we have at a fairly regular rate since 1999 issued debt to fund a number of new capital projects,” such as the Public Safety Building, Biskupski said. “Beginning in fiscal year 2017, our payments on debt serviced through (the capital improvement program) will nearly double, and the cash available to fund pay-as-you-go projects will drop in half for the next four years.”
That's why, the mayor said, the city officials must focus on "our needs, not our wants."
"City residents have known for some time that we must turn our focus to the basics," she said. “We will focus on storm drains, sewer systems, and the roads we use to get to and from our homes and businesses."
To help pay off a "gap" between ongoing expenses and generated revenue, Biskupski said she has reduced one-time funds used to balance the budget from $7.7 million to $6.7 million this year. She has also proposed moving maintenance of city parks and facilities into the city's general fund.
"When we choose to invest, regardless of whether the funding comes from our general fund or through voter-approved bonding, we must be transparent about future maintenance costs and plan for future revenues to cover it," Biskupski said.
To catch up on deferred maintenance — with more than 66 percent of Salt Lake’s roads in poor or in very poor condition — the mayor said she has proposed increasing infrastructure funding by 50 percent. The funds will come from allocations approved by the Utah Legislature that the city has not yet tapped, according to her proposal.
“The city has been sitting on a little pot of gold,” Biskupski said.
The state funds will allow one-time investment of $7.75 million for road improvements, including $4 million to renovate 500 South and 700 South, a west-side project Biskupski says is vital for economic growth.
“We continue to be the crossroads of the West," the mayor said. "With our airport redevelopment project now expanding … we should expect and encourage more cargo and goods to flow in and out of our city's warehouses and manufacturing spaces."
The mayor proposed that the other $3.75 million in state funds be used for other infrastructure projects, including $300,000 for improved traffic light timing calibration, bus stop upgrades, pavement overlays and sidewalk improvements.
To help the city's aging fleet, Biskupski also proposed using $250,000 in fuel cost savings to help purchase new vehicles and create a long-term plan for replacement and maintenance.
As for city employees, Biskupski proposed an "across-the-board" 1.25 percent pay raise for employees not represented by unions. She said negotiations are still ongoing for represented employees, but she hopes an agreement will be reached in the next few weeks.
Employees who weren't being paid at the market rate would also receive larger pay raises under her proposal, and city health care benefits would be expanded to cover new treatments, Biskupski said. According to her proposal, the salary and insurance changes would increase cost to the city by more than $3.3 million.
"The greatest asset our city has is not our fleet or our facilities; it is our people — the experts who keep Salt Lake City moving forward every day," she said. "Investing in them is the best time and money we can spend."
The mayor has also proposed an "amnesty program" for motorists who have encountered parking difficulties. Between August and October this year, the mayor proposed a one-time reduction in unpaid parking ticket fees in exchange for a donation of cash or canned goods to local nonprofits.
The average citation is estimated to be reduced by about $110, the mayor said, and the program is projected to generate $320,000 by encouraging motorists to pay outstanding tickets.
"So if you have outstanding citations issued before July 1, 2014, consider taking advantage of this proposed program," the mayor said.
Additionally, Biskupski proposed a one-time ticket dismissal for those who make a mistake when typing in their space on the meter keypad. She said it's a change that would cost the city about $60,000, "but it's in line with our desire to be a welcoming and accessible city."
To encourage more residents to take part in sustainability programs, Biskupski proposed suspending the city's solar permit fee.
"This suspension is in line with the goals of the new department of sustainability, and will make it more cost effective for homeowners to install solar panels," she said.
Salt Lake City Council Chairman James Rogers was optimistic after Biskupski unveiled her proposal, praising her efforts to support city employees, create new solutions for parking, and fund top priorities for the council this year, which included road and infrastructure repairs.
"It's the first in a long time that we've seen the administration and the legislative body aligned in council priorities," Rogers said, noting that the council will have to study the budget to see if the mayor's proposals cut any line items the council would not want to lose.
"I think once we dive into it and figure out exactly where we sit, where her priorities are, we'll move forward with it," he said.
The council has six weeks to comb through Biskupski's proposal. By law, the city must adopt its budget by June 22.
Email: kmckellar@deseretnews.com
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