Some Scranton departments achieved 10 percent cuts in their own budgets for 2013, but others have fallen short.
With salaries rising through contractual increases and no positions eliminated, department heads were asked to cut 10 percent of their departmental operating expenditures for 2013, meaning areas outside of employee compensation, council members said.
"Each department has to be responsible for a 10 percent cut. Not all complied," council President Janet Evans said. Asked what happens now for those departments that did not reach the goal, Mrs. Evans said, "Council will ensure the 10 percent cuts are made."
The intended cuts are part of the city's 2013 budget that was presented Nov. 15 by the mayor and introduced by council Thursday, when council Finance Chairman Frank Joyce detailed cuts totaling $2.1 million that have been identified. These cuts ranged from a few hundred dollars for various supplies/materials or dues/subscriptions, to a $1 million deferment in landfill fees.
Councilman Pat Rogan noted the landfill-fee reduction, which was presented as a 63 percent cut in the DPW refuse budget, actually isn't a cut at all. The city has negotiated with Keystone Sanitary Landfill in Dunmore a deferred payment of $1 million in landfill fees in 2013, officials said. The city budgeted $1.5 million in landfill fees in 2012, but is only budgeting $500,000 in 2013 because the city has worked out a deal with Keystone to pay back the $1 million by paying $333,000 in each of 2014, 2015 and 2016, officials said.
"That is really in essence borrowing and not a cut, correct?" Mr. Rogan asked.
Mr. Joyce replied, "Some may view it as a cut. It's a cut in the expenditure line item, however it's money that will have to be paid back at a later date, so you may want to call it a borrowing expenditure."
Another large "cut," a $562,000 reduction in the Business Administration department, would stem from shifting several parking meter/enforcement employees to an outside firm that now runs the city's parking garages. These employees were transferred in September from the Scranton Parking Authority to City Hall.
Other cuts would hit closer to the bone for some departments and would promise to make day-to-day operations more difficult, said some department heads, who nevertheless expressed confidence that services would not be affected.
For example, the Licensing, Inspections & Permits Department would have $160,000 cut from building repairs/supplies. With at least a dozen buildings to maintain, this cut likely would not go unnoticed, said LIPS Director Mark Seitzinger.
"That's one portion that's critical for us. Every day something goes wrong with buildings. If they cut that money, we'll really have to prioritize where that money goes," Mr. Seitzinger said. "If they feel that that amount is substantial enough to maintain these buildings, we'll do our best to maintain them with that amount of money."
DPW Director Mark Dougher added of some budget cuts, "You can't anticipate what's going to happen."
According to Mr. Joyce, the status of the 10 percent departmental cuts are as follows:
-âMayor's office: 43 percent cut, or $337 ($135 in dues/subscriptions and $182 in travel/lodging).
-âCity council: 48 percent cut, or $102,000 ($101,000 in professional services and $1,000 in services/maintenance fee).
-âCity controller: 1 percent cut, or $288.34 ($250 in printing/binding, $25 in dues/subscriptions and $13.34 in stationery).
-âBusiness administration: 9 percent cut, or $564,999.53 ($300 in professional services, $500 in printing/binding, $1,944.73 in dues/subscriptions, $20 in materials/supplies and $562,234.80 in the city transferring parking meter collection/enforcement employees to Standard Parking, the firm the now runs the city's parking garages. Earlier this year the parking meter employees were transferred from Scranton Parking Authority to City Hall.)
-âHuman resources: 6 percent cut, or $72,667.38 ($69,995.50 in professional services, $312.74 in materials/supplies and $2,359.14 in liability/casualty insurance).
-âInformation technology: 12 percent cut, or $30,000 in materials/supplies.
-âTreasury: 36 percent cut, or $20,635.50 in professional services.
-âLicensing, inspections and permits, administration: 6 percent cut, or $2,852.86 ($250 in professional services, $500 in dues/subscriptions, $1,266.19 in stationery, $300 in training/certification and $536.67 in maintenance communication equipment).
-âLicensing, inspections and permits, buildings: 11 percent cut, or $167,946.94 ($5,000 in professional services, $2,225 in services/maintenance fee, $160,221.94 in building repair/supplies and $500 in small tools/supplies).
-âPolice: 14 percent cut, or $33,274 ($1,325 in professional services, $4,075.31 in service/maintenance fees, $243 in dues/subscriptions, $576 in nonclassified miscellaneous services, $174.69 in stationery, $1,657 in materials/supplies, $500 in travel/lodging, $1,750 in training/certification, $20,000 in capital expenditures and $3,000 in maintenance of communication).
-âFire: Essentially a zero percent cut, or $4,700.19 ($1,251.19 in building repair/supplies, $1,964 in materials/supplies, $1,100 in air packs and rehabilitation supplies and $385 in maintenance of communication).
-âDPW, administration: 39 percent cut, or $60,172.58 ($50,000 in maintenance of Superfund site and $10,172.58 in flood protection system maintenance).
-âDPW, engineering: zero percent cut.
-âDPW, highways: 5 percent cut, or $78,585.14 ($365 in services/maintenance fee, $826.85 in rental vehicles/equipment, $373.07 in stationery, $4,500 in construction material, $5,000 in paint/sign materials, $5,520.22 in miscellaneous materials/supplies, $31,000 in road salt and $31,000 in capital expenditures).
-âDPW, refuse: 63 percent cut, or $1,002,450 in landfill fees. The city has negotiated with Keystone Sanitary Landfill in Dunmore a deferred payment of $1 million in landfill fees in 2013, the mayor has said. The city budgeted $1.5 million in landfill fees in 2012, but is only budgeting $500,000 in 2013. The mayor said the city has worked out a deal with Keystone to pay back the $1 million by paying $333,000 in each of 2014, 2015 and 2016.
-âDPW, garage: 1 percent cut, or $948 ($248 in contracted services, $200 in stationery and $500 in small tools.)
-âDPW, parks and recreation: 15 percent cut, or $26,356.96 ($61.45 in stationery, $17,425.04 in building repair supplies, $7,044.81 in medical/chemical/lab supplies, $1,600 in performing arts and $225.66 in spring/summer program).
-âLaw: zero cut.
-âOffice of Economic and Community Development: zero cut.
Contact the writer: jlockwood@timesshamrock.com