2018/10/17 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

• October 17, 2018 I'd like to thank our exceptional finance team, led by Susy Haugen and Rae Ann Nielsen, who have worked tirelessly and provided valuable insight and leadership to help bring the budget together. I also want to express my sincere gratitude to our entire City team, at all levels of the organization. Your thoughtful input and suggestions helped shape the budget that I am presenting tonight. Reducing the structural deficit Like communities throughout the state, Everett's budget deficit is tied to Initiative 747 and the cap on property tax, which limits our revenue growth while our expenses continue to rise every year. The City has faced a structural deficit for 15 years, which was made worse by the Great Recession. When I took office in January, our deficit was projected to grow to $16.4 million by 2020 and to nearly $24 million by 2022. It was clear that one-time cuts would not get us where we need to be. • In February I issued a mayoral directive to address the structural deficit in a significant and sustainable way. Our goal was to make as many long-term changes as we could and ensure that our resources were aligned with the community's priorities. From the start, this has been a very collaborative process. City team members and residents shared suggestions about how we could cut costs or realize more revenue. Our department heads also brought forward ideas for restructuring teams or changing service delivery models to reduce expenses. We also made changes on the staffing side, reducing 18 positions citywide, for a net reduction of 14.5 positions — a total savings of$1.8 million. Those were incredibly difficult choices to make, and there is still more to do. We are wrapping up assessments of several departments, and we will continue to identify areas for efficiencies and improved service delivery. And as I outlined in my directive at the beginning of the year, we must • 322