8/4/2003
Media Contact:
Steve Campbell, [317] 327-3622
Jo Lynn Garing, [317] 327-3690 |
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2004 Budget Presentation
Mayor Bart Peterson
I suspect none of us sought the privilege of serving in our offices solely to manage local government budgets. We don't put in long hours merely to maintain the status quo in Indianapolis. We believe that local government, in partnership with businesses, neighborhood associations, service organizations and others, can be a force for making our city a better place and improving the lives of the people we serve.
This year, as in the past, we have tried to be just that. Since I proposed my last budget, our economic development team has had many successes. The NNC Group, a business serving nine of the world's ten largest pharmaceutical companies, is consolidating operations from St. Louis to expand its corporate headquarters in Indianapolis, creating more than 270 local high-paying jobs. Life sciences giant Roche Diagnostics has committed to a $132 million expansion that will add 600 new jobs. Stanley Access Technologies is planning a $5 million expansion, establishing a new divisional headquarters, and retaining 546 local jobs. Norwood Promotional Products is moving its international headquarters to Indianapolis from Austin, Texas, bringing in 80 top-level jobs. AIT Laboratories, a national leader in analytical pharmacology and toxicology, is investing $5 million, retaining 40 jobs and creating 75 new jobs at a new corporate headquarters and toxicology laboratory on the west side of Indianapolis. And Finish Line, one of our homegrown companies, broke ground on a $20 million eastside corporate headquarters and distribution center expansion project in June, which will add 90 new jobs and retain 461 jobs.
New jobs, new corporate headquarters, new investment, all coming in a very tough economy. In fact, our unemployment rate, which has risen with the national economic downturn of the last three years, has just dropped below 5% for the first time since late in 2001. It is more than a percent below the national unemployment rate.
We've broken ground on two critical components of the new midfield terminal project at the airport – the relocation of Interstate 70 and the airport tower. Soon, we will unveil the design for the new terminal building, which will accommodate more passenger volume, improve services to business and leisure travelers, shorten taxi times, and serve as a national model for modern airport security. The new terminal building, funded by negotiated airline charges, will not impact the City's budget.
Through three orange alerts issued by the Department of Homeland Security, our public safety personnel – police officers, firefighters, emergency management specialists – have prepared us for the unlikely event of a terrorist attack. The threat level was raised during the first and second rounds of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament in the RCA Dome and at the time of the Indianapolis 500, both events that drew tens of thousands of visitors to our city.
Three weeks ago, 300,000 visitors came downtown for Indiana Black Expo's Summer Celebration, the premier event of its kind in the country. The men and women of the Indianapolis Police Department stepped up, working to ensure our residents and out of town visitors had a great experience and a good feeling about our city. They gave directions, kept pedestrian and vehicle traffic moving safely, and helped create an atmosphere of respect.
From devastating tornadoes almost a year ago, to one of the snowiest winters on record, to one of the most difficult pothole seasons in memory, to rains and floods that nearly crippled some of our neighborhoods last month, the men and women of the Department of Public Works are the frontline warriors in keeping our city going, come what may. A plague of locusts may be the only thing they didn't have to handle this past year!
When the Indiana Department of Transportation announced it was closing the I65/I70 connector downtown, the Department of Public Works prepared city streets for the increased traffic load, the Indianapolis Police Department helped lead a coordinated education effort for local drivers, and the Mayor's Action Center expanded its hours to meet the needs of commuting citizens. By any standard, Hyperfix was a success.
Over at Indianapolis Animal Care and Control, our staff has been working feverishly to link abandoned pets to new owners. From community outreach activities like Microchip Day, to online donations, to partnerships with local businesses and schools, Animal Care and Control is leading the way to control pet overpopulation and to encourage a more humane treatment of animals in our city.
And two weeks ago, when a car crashed through a chain link fence and plunged into four feet of water at the swimming pool at Gustafson Park, six of our Indy Parks lifeguards leapt to action, keeping swimmers safe while rescuing the car's passengers from the water.
All these things have been done without asking for any more money from our taxpayers. I am so proud of the people who work for the City of Indianapolis. Please join me in giving our city employees a hand!
This is my fourth year to stand before you and offer a city budget proposal. It is, in many ways, the most difficult one yet. My budgets have always reflected my strong belief in delivering services in the most efficient way possible and looking for ways to reduce the cost of government. The state of the national economy, while showing some signs of recovery, continues to suggest particular caution with government spending. But the property tax crisis so many of our homeowners face makes this a truly unique budget year.
We have been careful and prudent in our spending in the last three and a half years, yet we have made tremendous advancements. We shored up public safety, giving our police officers, firefighters and emergency management personnel the tools they need to better protect our community. We beefed up code enforcement in our neighborhoods, making tangible improvements in neighborhood livability. We invested in our parks, adding more parkland and programs for everyone to enjoy. And we increased funding for the arts, a vital component of our strategies for economic development, quality of life, and education.
We have done these things – and more – in a fiscally conservative way. In fact, the people of Indianapolis and Marion County have seen the city government share of their property tax bill shrink from 1999 to 2003.
But even more is required of us in these tough times. Indianapolis is not alone in dealing with the challenges of an economic downturn that has hit nearly every city in this country hard. But we face an additional challenge. We have homeowners in our city who are reeling from higher property taxes resulting from the recent reassessment.
The reassessment was prompted by an Indiana Supreme Court ruling in 1998, which found our state's property tax system to be unconstitutional. Assessors were required to start assessing property – homes and businesses – based on market value. The impact has been felt most acutely by owners of older homes. Many fear losing their home or having to move out of their neighborhoods.
We have reached out to assist those homeowners. I created the position of Taxpayer Advocate – which helps Indianapolis homeowners understand their rights under the law and educates them about the property tax process – and used already budgeted dollars to hire Amy Corsaro to take on this great responsibility.
Amy – assisted by local lawyers we recruited to donate their time – has had a busy month. In early July, volunteer lawyers staffed a help line for those affected by the reassessment. Throughout the past month, Amy and other lawyers working with her have helped 400 people with their property tax questions. Also, Amy has been out in our neighborhoods, holding one-on-one meetings with taxpayers, working in conjunction with township assessors. As a reminder, Amy Corsaro can be reached by contacting the Mayor's Action Center at 327-4MAC, that's 327-4622.
I also asked the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership to help. They've responded with a terrific program called "Preserving the American Dream," which gives qualifying homeowners the opportunity to utilize historically low interest rates to relieve the pressures of property tax bills and to get needed home repairs done at the same time. INHP is doing wonderful job, and I applaud them for stepping up to the plate to help homeowners in our community who are hurting.
But city government must also lead by example in providing relief to our taxpayers. In these tough times, we will respond to changed circumstances and still deliver quality and effective services by aggressively cutting our budget and reducing spending.
I am proposing to reduce the 2004 city budget by $20.9 million. That includes $12.2 million in spending cuts and the elimination of the $8.7 million in Public Mass Transit Funds which you may have read about in the news recently. $12.2 million represents a 5.6% cut in non-public safety spending, and an overall cut of 2.24%. And, I have already ordered city government to reduce its spending by at least 6.5% for the current budget year.
I am proposing a salary freeze for non-union city employees which will affect more than 1,200 people. There will be a two-percent pay cut for me, my senior staff and department directors. I'm proposing to eliminate at least 20 positions citywide, two of which are in my office.
Every city department is cutting back on new computers, supplies, vehicles, equipment, tools, office furniture, outside contracts, and fuel.
Our city departments are able to do this without compromising essential services because of flexibility, determination, and creativity. They will be doing more with less. The Department of Metropolitan Development is cutting its budget even while providing maintenance on new city-owned properties like the Keystone Enterprise Park and Central State Hospital. Indy Parks will still open nine new facilities including new trails and greenways – thanks in part to a generous grant for capital projects from the Lilly Endowment – without increasing staff. Public Works is reducing 11 positions without layoffs, realigning its workforce to run leaner.
Together, over four city budgets, we have held the annual growth in property tax levies to an average of three tenths of one percent per year. This compares to 3% annual growth in city property tax levies in the five preceding years. The 2004 budget proposal cuts the city's reliance on property taxes by $2.5 million.
Austerity measures are more than just cuts. Austerity measures force us to temporarily hold off on some of the things we would dearly like to have. For example, I am not proposing funding increases for code enforcement or the arts. We will have to make progress in these areas without more funding. We will continue to make progress in these areas with a leaner budget.
Just think: three and a half years ago, Lynn's Lingerie had two strip clubs masquerading as neighborhood clothing retailers; Citizen's Lodge was the Indianapolis Police Department's number one criminal hotspot; and our code inspectors spent considerable time filing paperwork and reports. Today, Lynn's Lingerie is out of business; Citizen's Lodge has been leveled; and our inspectors have better technology that allows them more time to rid our neighborhoods of serial code violators. We've come a long way! We're going to keep it up – we will just do more with no additional funding.
Arts funding means a lot to me. I believe in the power the arts have to transform lives. It is a source of pride to me that we have worked together to nearly double city support of our arts organizations. However, at a time when city employees will not be getting pay raises, I could not in good conscience ask for an increase in arts funding.
Public safety is an area in which we will keep a close eye on spending and continue to be efficient, but we will see a relatively small increase from last year's budget. Public safety was, is, and will always be my top priority in city government.
I will, in spite of all these measures, allow no compromise in essential city services. Streets will be paved, sewers maintained, and sidewalks replaced. Neighborhood services, such as community development and affordable housing initiatives, code enforcement and parks programs, will go on. Nuts and bolts services, for which we pay property taxes in the first place – such as snow removal and trash pickup – will be unaffected.
We will do more with less. I deeply regret that many of those from whom we will ask more will not receive any more pay in 2004. This will be a priority to fix when city finances allow.
The city's 2004 budget proposal is austere. It is stark and it is straightforward.
Reducing spending in 2003 and 2004 has not been an easy task. The responsibility to do so comes with the office to which I am elected. And it falls upon you as well. I look forward to working with you in a bipartisan fashion in the upcoming weeks for the benefit of the people we all serve.
Thank you.
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