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November 2.2011 <br /> Dellvedng a balanced budget this year has not been an easy task.The <br /> exceedingly slow pace of economic recovery has placed tremendous <br /> pressure on our ability to fund core services,and we do not expect to see <br /> any meaningful improvement for the next few years. <br /> Consumer cadence remains weak,and it is difficult to say when the <br /> business sectors that influence our economy will return to their pre-recession <br /> level of activity.Accordingly,to assure that we budget responsibly and move <br /> forward with a realistic and solid foundation,the revenue forecast for 2012 <br /> does not look fora significant change from 2011. <br /> We are now In Our third full year of seeing direct effects from the <br /> recession and our resources continue to lag.Our 2012 General <br /> Government budget for annual revenues is$110 million.This is down <br /> nearly$9 million or approximately eight percent born our total receipts for <br /> 2008. <br /> As many of you recall,Just six months ago we were looking ata$10 <br /> million budget gap for 2012.Eliminating that deficit wasnt easy,and it <br /> required many hard decisions as we balanced the needs of our community <br /> with our ability to pay.The most significant Include: <br /> o Eliminating cost of living increases for appointive employees <br /> and elected officials; <br /> o Implementing additional controls to reduce overtime costs; <br /> o Eliminating 12 positions through attrition; <br /> o Reassigning staff to areas of need from departments where <br /> activity declined with the downturn; <br /> o Reducing departmental spending in 2011—the savings will be <br /> used to prefund 2012 contributions to insurance premiums, <br /> vehide replacement and facility maintenance reserves;and <br /> 299 <br />