Budget’s close enough for government work

Collinsville city leaders made a move this week that seems curious: They passed their 2016 budget and projections for 2017 without settling on significant expense and revenue issues.

The city intends to impose a higher utility tax, but leaders are not being upfront with residents about how much they intend to collect. The utility tax is now 1.25 percent and it may go to 4 percent, but then it may not.

They said the next-lowest utility tax rate is 3.09 — more than double Collinsville’s rate. That means little without knowing the full tax burden on each municipality’s residents — property, sales, utility taxes, etc.

Did council members come from parents who answered their pleas for goodies with “we’ll see” rather than a “yes” or a “no?” Maybe they should have heard that just because their friends jump off a bridge, doesn’t mean they should follow.

They gave the yet-to-be hired new city manager authority to add as many as 10 employees over two years, but high pension costs will determine exactly who, when and how much. The budget passed by a 3-2 split.

Council member Jeff Stehman said raising taxes is not taken lightly, but the city has street work and equipment needs. Council member Nancy Moss said the budget was “unsustainable.”

How, exactly, does one adopt a document that will guide your spending without knowing how much you have to spend or when you will spend it? The utility tax remains unsettled, and state dollars to municipalities is an even bigger question mark.

A budget is intended to be an instrument of fiscal discipline, not a kinda, sorta loosey-goosey ballpark estimate.

This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Budget’s close enough for government work."