City cuts budget anticipating reduction in state funding
Aaron Cedeño | Staff Writer

The Lenexa City Council cut $2.6 million from its 2009 budget Feb. 10, in response to an anticipated reduction in state funding.

“The other thing is, honestly, it’s just preparing for 2010,” said finance director Doug Robinson. “Even if we made it through 2009, we knew that 2010 was going to be a tough year.”

The cuts come from a variety of departments, all with an eye toward making sure that services provided to the citizens weren’t affected, Robinson said. For example, employee salary increases have been reduced from an average of 3.75 percent to 2.4 percent – saving Lenexa $347,000 – and 13 vacant positions are being held open until next year.

Robinson said that the city was making an effort to operate more efficiently across the board. Public safety was asked to try new scheduling methods to help reduce overtime costs, and city employees were asked to minimize their travel if at all possible.

“For example, if there’s training that we can get locally instead of having to travel somewhere to do it, then that’s what we’re doing,” Robinson said. “Or if it’s training that can maybe be put off for a year or two, then we’re doing that.”

Additionally, the drastic decrease in fuel prices has given the city another way to save without having to make dramatic cuts to programs or services.

The 2009 budget was drafted assuming gas prices would remain near $4 a gallon. With current costs at half that, the city was able to save more than $250,000.

“The reductions we’re making now will actually help us,” Robinson said. “It will make the 2010 budget a little easier.”

The cuts were necessary for a number of reasons. Previously, the state had committed to compensating Lenexa, on a sliding scale, for financial losses brought on by the elimination of the machinery and equipment tax. Scheduled to receive just shy of $1 million in 2009, Robinson said they anticipated receiving approximately half that total this year – and nothing in 2010.

Property values in Lenexa are dropping as well, for the first time in Lenexa’s history, resulting in the loss of as much as $1 million in property tax revenue next year.

Robinson said these cuts have the ability to roll over into 2010. The city is well-positioned for what is likely to be a “tough” year, he said.

At this point, he said, further cuts in 2009 appear to be unlikely.

“It may not work out exactly as we’ve planned, and it may not save as much money as we anticipate,” Robinson said, of the cuts. “But we think that if that’s the case, we’ll be able to do other things to offset that, so overall we can achieve that $2.6 million reduction to the budget.”

For more information on the cuts, visit Lenexa’s Web site at www.ci.lenexa.ks.us.