2013 Budget
A Message from the City Council
We want to hear from you!
What would you like Bel Aire's budget priorities to be for 2013?
The City Council would like to hear from citizens about what is important to them before beginning the 2013 budget process. Resources will continue to be very limited for 2013, but we want to make sure we keep doing the things that our citizens value and look for ways to start doing things that our citizens desire.
As discussed during the 2012 budget process, the City does have significant financial obligations for land-related expenses and debt payments which limit the amount of funds available for other areas. Although we know it will not be possible to accomplish all the things that we would like to, we want to make sure that citizen priorities help guide the allocation of funding to areas of importance.
We thank you so much for your willingness to participate in making our City the best it can be and we look forward to an engaging and productive budget process.
Please click here to tell us what is important to you.
2012 Budget
Early in the budget process, staff identified cuts that could be made in 2012 to allow for the coverage of all mandatory land related expenses without a tax increase. This scenario included closing the City's Recreation Center and contracting with the City of Wichita to provide fire protection at a reduced rate from what citizens pay to Sedgwick County.
In June, a water bill insert explaining the budget constraints facing the City was sent to all residents, inviting them to attend one of two upcoming Town Hall meeting to obtain more information and provide feedback. Both Town Hall budget meetings were held at Bel Aire City Hall. Each time, over 100 citizens were in attendance and many spoke about what services they wanted to see maintained for 2012. Overwhelmingly, the feedback from citizens supported keeping the Recreation Center open and staying with Sedgwick County for fire protection.
Based on recommendations from citizens, staff proposed cuts of $745,000 in operating expenses and a 12 mill increase in the City property tax rate. After careful consideration and in an effort to avoid over burdening citizens in a strained economy, the City Council agreed to the publication of a proposed 2012 budget that included $745,000 in operating expenses and a 6.839 mill increase. This was made possible by adding $280,000 of land sales into the revenue budget for 2012. Based on State Statute, once the budget is published, the proposed expenditures and mill levy can not be increased, but can be decreased prior to formal adoption of the budget.
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