As 2023 Budget Is Being Developed, Here's What To Look For (Part 2)

Last week, we presented a view of overall town budgeted spending for fiscal 2022 (which ends in June) and our quick thoughts on why the budget will likely be bigger for fiscal 2023. We identified three key components that comprise town operations. Today, we look at one of the three keep element: Spending on Town Operations

It costs $91 million to operate the town in 2022
The total cost of operating the town in 2022 in budgeted at $91million. This includes has fourteen operating budget programs. Two of these, the Police Department and the Water Utility, are essential services. The rest are discretionary services, though some are less discretionary than others.

Essential programs-Police and Water- $32.8 million
The Police Department and the Water Utility budgets combine for 36% of the town operating budget. These two departments employ 44% of the town's 400 employees. They are both "life preserving" programs. 

From a financial perspective, however, they are quite different.  The water department gets its funding directly from customers. The Police Department gets its funding from the General Fund, which is the primary fund that your sales taxes and state shared revenues fund go into.

The two departments also differ in the level of scrutiny they get from the council during the budget process. The water utility gets no look at all. On the other hand, the funding for the police department has been a "political football" in past years, with some council members trying to paint their council opposites as "anti-cop." 

One final difference. The Police Chief and the Department report to Town Council. The Water Utility reports to the Town Manager. Consequently, the Town Council has primary responsibility for the police department budget.

Non essential programs: $58.3 million
We've classified everything else the town does as "non essential." That doesn't mean that the programs are not important. It means that these programs can be more easily scaled and adjusted because without impact on life. All of these departments, though, are important to the community. Two are public works, which maintains the town's road's and oversees public building projects (such as the Naranja Park expansion) and Parks and Recreations. We expect the Parks and Recreation budget to increase substantially because the program is rapidly expanding.

One large pool of spending is classified as "General Administration." The amount is about $20m. It is a collection of items that are discretionary. Half of budget dollars was a one-time payment to reduce the underfunding of the police pension. Much of the rest is to fund town operations and maintenance. The rest is spending on discretionary items, such as contributions to Visit Tucson.

2022-23 Town Manager Recommended Budget unveiled next week
The FY 2022/23 Town Manager Recommended Budget is in final development and will be distributed to the Town Council in the days following the Easter weekend.  It will also be posted to the Town’s website. Budget study sessions are scheduled for May 11 and 12 at 5 p.m., with tentative adoption on June 1 and final adoption on June 15. (Source: Town Manager's April "Executive Report To Council")