Beloit Daily News, 9/21/2011.
Excerpt: Beloit's police and fire departments will both need to eliminate positions heading into 2012 to accommodate the city's shrinking annual operating budget, said City Manger Larry Arft.
Specifically, there will be about six fewer police officers and six fewer firefighters next year, he said. In all, the equivalent of 20.5 public safety jobs, a mix of full- and part-time workers, will be dropped.
The city's expenditures on police and fire are sizable. In fact, the dollars allocated toward public safety services comprised 62 percent of the general fund in 2011's citywide budget. Police received $11.3 million, while the Fire Department got $7.3 million.
Because of mandates enacted by Gov. Scott Walker, Beloit cannot raise its tax levies. This restraint, coupled with the area's slump in property values, limits the city's ability to create revenues, Arft and various members of the Beloit City Council have said.
The city's total adopted operating budget was $93.3 million in 2011, a 1.3 percent increase over the previous year. Moving into 2012, this figure will undoubtedly decrease, Arft has said.
As a result, departments across the municipal government will need to cut. Arft said the city attempted to adopt a "strategy to spread these cuts across" departments evenly. In past months, he has worked with department heads to come up with realistic budgets for 2012. Details of most of the cuts have not been made public, but information on the police and fire reductions has gotten out.
Other Wisconsin county and municipal budget news.
Wisconsin Rapids 2012 budget process underway. (9/22/2011)
Oshkosh 2012 budget deficit projected to balloon to as much as $2.3 million. (9/20/2011)
Facing $2.5 million shortfall, La Crosse considers a variety of fees. (9/14/2011)
100 show up at Dodgeville budget hearing. (9/12/2011)
Zero percent increase for Prairie du Sac department budgets. (9/7/2011)
City of Ashland looks at projected shortfall of $329,000 in 2012 budget. (8/26/2011)
Dodgeville city council to hold listening session on 2012 budget. (8/26/2011)
Shawano budget deficit at $504,800. (8/25/2011)
City of Ripon facing $110,000 budget deficit for 2012. (8/25/2011)
Long list of cuts on table for Racine city services. (8/25/2011)
Dodge County Administrator: "Governor Walker does not speak for Dodge County". (8/25/2011)
Longevity bonuses in Portage might become a thing of the past. (8/24/2011)
Declining property values pose a challenge to Columbus budget development. (8/24/2011)
Whitewater council looks at 0% tax levy increase. (8/24/2011)
Janesville residents asked to make tough choices in online budget scorecard. (8/24/2011)
Village of Darien officials ask for input on 2012 budget. (8/24/2011)
City of Marshfield has some wiggle room in its 2012 budget development. (8/24/2011)
Soglin on 2012 Madison budget: "Every service we rely on is vulnerable". (8/23/2011)
With a ballooning budget deficit, Marathon County considers a tax increase. (8/23/2011)
Sheboygan's Strategic Fiscal Planning Committee to determine what city will look like. (8/19/2011)
Brown County Exec looks at same tax levy, impact on services to be determined. (8/18/2011)
City of Shawano wrestles with $128,000 deficit. (8/16/2011)
Possible double whammy for Shawano City-County Library. (8/15/2011)
Portage County Executive looks to "create a bridge to a new design, a way of functioning on less".. (8/15/2011)
Antigo cuts fire, police positions. (8/15/2011)
Adding up the budget numbers in the Fox Valley. (8/14/2011)
Sauk County officials ask for input. (8/12/2011
Marathon County ranks services to address $500,000 budget shortfall. (8/12/2011)
City of Beloit faces a challenging budget process. (8/8/2011)
Fond du Lac city manager sez Governor's tools not enough to offset cuts. (8/2/2011)
Manitowoc mayor asks department heads for 10% budget cuts. (8/2/2011)
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