Despite belt tightening, city's largest departments continue to grow

While the city’s spending is projected to only increase about 1 percent in the upcoming fiscal year, some of its largest departments will continue to expand. Here is a breakdown of the major expenses within the $36,285,697 general fund budget put in front of the City Council Monday night:

• Police and Fire: Despite proposing to cut a vacant and firefighter and vacant police officer, the respective departments continue to be the heaviest within the city. The police budget is $7.05 million, which has increased a mere 1.5 percent since the 2007-08 fiscal year. The fire department’s budget, at $7.99 million, is the largest departmental budget in the city. That figure has increased 6 percent since 2007-08.
• Public Works: The DPW budget will increase 2.54 percent, from $4.99 million to $5.1 million in the upcoming fiscal year. That compares to the $4.75 million it spent in 2007-08.
• Parks and Recreation: The only other six-figure department in the city is proposed to spend $1.14 million, a 5.4 percent decrease from the $1.2 million it is projected to spend this year.
• While department spending often gets the headlines, it’s worth noting that the city will spend $3.18 million on health insurance for retirees in the upcoming budget, a 19 percent increase from the $2.69 million it spend in 2007-08.
• Debt service: The city has spent the last three budgets whittling down the amount it pays for debt each year. The upcoming budget continues that trend. The $3.46 million in proposed spending is $328,000 less than the $3.79 million it will spend in the current year.

I'll follow up with more details about the city’s budget in Wednesday’s edition of the Times.