Gulfport City Council Candidate Question of the Week

Voters will head to the polls on Tuesday, March 8^th to decide who will represent the city as Gulfport City Council Member for Ward Two. Barbara Banno and Avrio Taylor are vying for your votes. To help inform the community, Gulfport Patch will publish a City Council Candidate Question of the Week.

Gulfport Patch Question of the Week # 4 :

"If elected, how do you plan to help balance the budget?"

Barbara Banno said, "City Manager Jim O’Reilly and the department heads have done a wonderful job managing our budget during the hard downturn in the economy these last several years. The city’s employees have gone above and beyond to maintain our services and facilities. The economic downturn has caused the city’s revenues to shrink because of a steady decrease in property values, after having peaked in 2008 at $1 billion. Some have stated that our budget is strong and everything is well because property values are reported as being higher now than they were in 2005. That numerical reference is true, however, there is more to the story, which is untold by those viewing the budget as being strong and safe. The revenue from property taxes in 2005 was approximately $2.7 million based on a millage rate of 4.3%. The city’s 2011 budget projects $2.5 million in revenue at a millage rate of 3.47%. The current general fund budget is being balanced by moving over $1 million from the funds dedicated to Sanitation,Water & Sewer and the Marina. The question is, can this balancing act continue, for how long and what should be done to resolve the budget issues?  

The last thing we want to do is  raise taxes or cut services. However, how do we make-up for the shortfalls? The budget is the only true authority Council has over City operations. If elected I will review every aspect of the budget and be prepared to make the difficult decisions. Allow me to share some thoughts: 

• Leisure Services Fees- Is there opportunity to increase revenue from the Casino, Marina, Library, Theater and Rec Center? I want to consider making the Casino a destination by bringing in more weekend and weekday events. How do we maximize revenues at the Marina and optimize the benefit of our waterfront? I want to explore ways to highlight the waterfront aspect of our community so that it helps our businesses and the city. I want to investigate additional services that our library can offer – i.e. fee based proctoring services, additional fee based classes, etc.
• Overlay Districts- I want to explore ways to grow these areas. I believe we need to consider creating a partnership of private and public development opportunities. I will encourage we form a team of business, real estate and interested residents  to work with the city to find opportunities.
• Business Development – We need to move forward with the plan to re-vitalize 49^th Street. We also need to look for additional opportunities to grow the 22^nd Avenue and Beach Business Districts. I also want to see the City more involved in true community development. Less than five percent of the City budget is dedicated to Community Development. I want to consider expanding that area in order to help grow revenues by expanding our tax base. I want to explore the Main Street program and see if it is a fit for Gulfport.
• Tax Base / User Fees - We need to determine what can be done to grow the property tax and user fees bases. Many properties are undervalued because they are unoccupied or in need of repair. I want to work with staff and real estate professionals to explore what can be done to resolve these issues so that we can bring new residents / owners into the city. Revitalized properties increase the tax base and also generate utility taxes and user fees.
• Employees- Much of what we enjoy in Gulfport is due directly to the City’s great employees. They have worked to maintain services while we the residents have for the most part incurred little or no increase in taxes or fees. Many of the employees, primarily non-union, have not received a cost of living payment in two years and did not receive a merit increase last year. However, we must ask how long and how much should the employees bear. I believe we need to explore ways to restore merit raises for our employees, if not this year next year at the latest.

As a city we must start thinking of creative ways to strengthen our budget, and as a whole the way we do things. We must "think outside the box" and we must evolve with the times. No idea can be left off the table and to that end, I will also encourage staff and my associates to have in-depth brainstorming sessions to consider all ideas. I also believe some of the best ideas can be found in our community. I will encourage that we capitalize on the great talent available in our community—business leaders, civic leaders and private residents and seek out their feedback through appropriate venues. Budget management requires strong analysis, creative ideas and the fortitude to make difficult decisions. I am prepared to accept and execute all of these aspects of the budget process."

 Avrio Taylor said, "First of all, we have to keep in mind that the city council does not create the budget. The budget is created by the city manager and the city council can approve, reject or make recommendations for changes. Gulfport has always had a balanced budget and will continue to do so. Everyone knows that we are in an economic downturn but that does not mean that the city budget is in a freefall. We still have a taxable base higher than we had in 2005, which is not that long ago, and we have about 20% fewer people on the city payroll than at our peak. We have the required reserves and we have other funds that help protect our city budget.

The important thing that the city council must do is protect our city services and not be frightened into trying to generate revenue from sources that would permanently damage our community, such as increasing property taxes, selling out our Waterfront District to tourist interests, or privatizing the Casino. Improvements in the overall budget will be gradual and must be done with a long-term perspective. Things that will improve the budget over the long term will be initiatives such as improving 49^th St and attracting new businesses, more advantageous contracts between our fire department and the surrounding communities, and tough negotiations with Progress Energy, Bright House, St. Pete water and other vendors to the community. We must always remember that Gulfport is a community for the people who live here and it is always the community as a whole that must be considered first."