Maureen asks a good question in another thread: Why is the budget split with the schools now 58%, I thought it was 56%? It’s a simple question but it’s a bit complicated to answer:
When I was first elected the split with the schools was indeed 56%. That 56% applies to what are called “General Fund Revenues”. The General Fund pays for most of the ordinary stuff the government does. It is funded primarily by the property tax, business activity taxes, Machinery & Tools and some others. At that point, we paid for all of our Firefighting costs out of the General Fund.
When the Council elected to create a “formal” career fire/rescue service we had to hire enough fire fighters, medics and a Chief to fill out the staff requirements to establish regular and complete fire/rescue service. That was expensive and we elected to create a special fund, the cleverly named “Fire & Rescue Fund” to pay for F&R expenses. This account is funded by the Fire Levy which is still a property tax but it is no longer in the General Fund. All of the expenses for F&R now come out of that Fund. We did this as it was far less expensive than if we would have continued to pay for F&R out of the general fund. Remember, half the money in the General Fund goes to the schools so we would have, in essence, had to double the amount we collected to pay for F&R expenses if we continued the existing practice.
Now, that transfer of operating money out of the General Fund reduced the amount of money that went to the schools. The schools didn’t think this was very cool and the Council agreed. We directed staff to run the numbers to come up with a new ratio that would keep the actual dollars transferred to the schools the same even though there were fewer dollars in the General Fund.
I hope that this helps.
April 9, 2011 at 12:02 pm
Just an addendum to the explanation with regards to Fire Levy: that is tied directly to the establishment of the City Fire District which encompasses our full border. This was established as the step in the process of the now FRS under VA Code 27-23.1 and there are very clear rules about the tax levy and use of funds in the law about it (see link below). The Council provided an opportunity for citizens to speak in favor or against before it was established (See Council Minutes dated April 28, 2008; Item 16 for discussion and approval on Res. 0-2008-28) in a Public Hearing.
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+27-23.1
April 9, 2011 at 12:57 pm
This is what is wrong with how we run the City. Why things have to be so complicated is beyond me, other than to just keep spending more money. What the fire department has to do with the level of school spending is beyond me. If it is more expensive to hire full time fire folks, then cut costs somewhere else. That’s how we the people do it with our budgets. We simply can’t ask someone for more money. Sorry, I keep forgetting the Council is spending money they did not have to pony up, silly me, it’s easy to increase spending when the money did not come from your own pocket.
The fact the Council believes a failing school system should be rewarded with the same level of money is beyond me. Of course the school system believes they need more money, because to them it’s all about money and not the education of the student.
April 9, 2011 at 2:55 pm
COM: I live in Manassas and my business is in Manassas. I assure you my fair share is in that budget. I pay real estate taxes on 2 places and the business taxes in the City as well. We may disagree on some of these things but don’t say things that just aren’t true.
Also, recall that we refered the revenue agreement to the finance committee recently.
April 9, 2011 at 8:37 pm
Andy,
Of course you have money vested. But, you also have a huge pot of money that belonged to someone else to spend. Not many people can be conservative with the money of others.
There just simply is no justification to continue the spending agreement in light of the poor results and continued budget issues.
April 9, 2011 at 9:01 pm
I question any standing shared services or percentage agreement that does not have at least a periodic review tied with it – should be built in the budget process as looking at prior year + currrent year + budget year. That is proper management at a minimum. Look at the Shared Services Agreement with the County – that sucker was signed off in 1975, and the only amendment to it by the BOCS has been regarding the “donut hole” of the Courthouse in 2005! And yet, because it is “per capita” and the County uses the loophole that as services as adds such as VCE, then the City pays a portion.
I also think MCPS should prepare its budget in the same level of detail as the spreadsheets prepared by our outstanding Finance Honcho Pat Weiler and her gang. When you look at MCPS and see Instruction – $62M, you have no idea what is salary and what is direct/indirect instructional contact hour expenses. Nor do you see by grade or instructional department breakouts. The broad categories the MCPS uses could just be interpreted to say they take a prior year and add in an inflationary factor based on the CPI. No wonder we all question where over half our taxes are going!
April 10, 2011 at 11:25 am
I hear what you say, Ray but often it’s “What” your spending not “Why”. Both the City and MCPS need to do a high level of detail, like a private enterprise. And take it on step further. I ran a division of a Fortune 100 firm and was responsible for > $100 million of sales/production. For example, on of my departments may have tried to justify replacing 15 new full size pickups “ad infinitum” via r&m expenses, but overlook the rather obvious-do really need to replace a 12 mpg vehicle like for like? Fuel has tripled in cost since the original vehicles were purchased. (Merely an example)-Need to truly spend the cash like it’s one’s own.
April 10, 2011 at 5:48 pm
Rob, you called it right. The MCPS School Board is a “corporate board” by definition in the Virginia Code, and yet, the whole system does not run like a business. Education of students, in terms of business operation, is a production entity: you have”x” amount of students by grade, and each grade has a cost, and since there is block scheduling, you also end up with departmental costs such as science. In that subject, there would be certain supplies common to the department, and others grade-specific for the subject. Alas, as I noted, the budget is not prepared that way.
April 10, 2011 at 5:51 pm
Rob, as for the City, overall there is the showing of income/costs. The level of detail in the City Manager’s Proposed Budget overall is one where you can find things. The Open Items List that Andy attached, works well with matching. Ideally, as each Work Session is done by the Council, annotated sheets could be posted but I also realize that would require more City Staff as that is time consuming. Still, the sessions I attend which interest me (I don’t hit all of them) do provide a further level of detail to the draft.
April 10, 2011 at 8:13 pm
Corporate board. Division of a major corporation. Bah blah blah.
We are not talking about titans of industry here. When discussing our school board we are talking about VOLUNTEERS in a small town. As to the paid staff, they don’t get paid squat when compared with major corporations, so please get real.
When the grand titans of industry are ready to quit their jobs and volunteer to be on our school board or take great huge pay cuts to work for our schools, then I’ll listen. In the meantime we need to work with what we’ve got. Comparing our school board and paid staff in this little town with what is expected in a major corporation is quite utopian and just plain silly.
April 11, 2011 at 6:45 am
@rob: you’re point is well taken but is a departure from the way the City is currently governed. We use a City Manager form of government and he’s responsible to the Council for the details. In your example, the Council would be the Board of Directors and you would be the City Manager. The alternative is a “Strong Mayor” form of government, like in DC. They have full-time council and mayor.
From a purely practical point of view, the Council can’t get involved at a higher level of detail and still remain a volunteer body. We are aware of many of the details – we know how many vehicles are being purchased, for instance, but maybe not the brands. During budget season I’m often away from home 4 nights a week and only 1 or sometimes 2 of those nights are budget meetings. I also routinely have daytime meetings on behalf of the City. If we were to switch to a line-item review of the City budget, we would have to add several 2-day sessions on weekends….at least.
Speaking just for myself, I can’t do more than I already do – I don’t earn my living at City Hall. I have a business to run and cannot devote every ounce of my mental energy to City business. My family depends on me for income.
April 11, 2011 at 6:50 am
Wake up,
There are a number of people in the school administration that make well over 100K. For such a small town, that’s a lot of money. With that comes a lot of accountability. We should not have to put up with the current administration just because.
April 11, 2011 at 8:16 am
COM,
Correct. I just view as fallacious the comparison that others have made with major corporations where there are really major skillsets and salaries in the mix. I am not suggesting that we put up with anything “just because.” I am suggesting that we use what we have unless and until we can hire (or elect) something better. As you know, it’s a crapshoot anytime you get someone new.
April 11, 2011 at 12:05 pm
The Fire levy…I think it should be run like insurance…it should be based on the number of calls to your house, the chances of your house going up in flames etc. They could do a “griding or districting” of Manassas based on the aquired information above and issue the levy accordingly. Some neighborhoods NEVER see fire and rescue, while others…geesh! Kinda the city’s way of rewarding homeowners for well built homes and healthy living.
Florida has a “HOMESTEAD” act. If you live in your home, you get a better rate on EVERYTHING (mostly realestate taxes). If you are a “SLUM LORD…I’m mean Land Lord”…taxes are higher, insurance is higher etc etc…
All of these are just ideas …”thinking outside of the box”.
April 11, 2011 at 9:21 pm
Wake Up,
Since we are talking School Board and the MCPS here, it seems you have failed Civics Class. Our School Board are not Volunteers, they are ELECTED and PAID. The Chair, if I recall right, gets around $7000 a year; the Members around $6000 each. A true Volunteer (and I be one on two Boards) gets neither paid or receive a stipend in most cases.
And with reference to “Corporate”, go out and read Chapter 7, Title 22.1 of the Virginia Code. 22.1-71 describes their corporate powers. And as for expecting the Administrative Statement in the little red building on Tudor Lane to do their work under laws, regulations, and procedures regardless of their level of pay is also a point in civic responsibility since they are a government entity and activity. I got paid squat for over two decades in the military running multi-million dollar budgets and still did my job.
I grew up in what was once a small Southern town which also evolved into a city. To this day, that School Board, Administration and all the Principals know where the money is and act accountable to both the City Government and the People in stewardship of the monies they receive. So take a moment and refresh your Civics Class knowledge, please.
April 11, 2011 at 9:25 pm
WSGFN, I like your thinking; sounds almost like Ohio. They have various tax levies based on different services like Fire, Social Services, and even Aging Programs. Take the Aging Programs – for those Counties with a higher population of Older Americans (Age 60+), they have a nickel levy to help pay for the Programs because in those Counties, more use them. Wonder what Virgina Law (in its wonderful Victorian approach to things) would say about your idea?
April 11, 2011 at 11:45 pm
Wake Up responding to Raymond,
You know your numbers well, but maybe you’re being a bit hypertechnical and unrealistic. You are right of course, the board members do get paid about 6k per year. But for what they have to put up with, and for the number of hours they have to work, they are effectively volunteers. Just like the council members. Yeah, I know they get paid too, but not one of them does it for the money. Heck, doing it for the money would be proof positive that they are nuts and shouldn’t be in charge of anything. And yes Raymond, I know what the law says and what the civics books say and I know what their responsibilities are but please don’t get that stuff confused with the real world. I’m sure that the leaders in your old home town are doing a great job just as you say. But they are there and not here. Our leadership here is limited by who chooses to run here and who we then choose to elect. Some (like Andy) work there tails off and have good judgment. Others do not. We do not have industry titans to call upon, we do not have your old hometown leaders to call upon. We only have those very, very few who volunteer to run. And when I look away from home plate I don’t see a bunch of stars on deck. So, Raymond, I’m not making excuses for anybody, nor to I suffer from a lack of civics knowledge. I’m just observing the unvarnished truth that there is not a lot of raw material we can turn to. You, to your credit, gave your all to the marines, and you are still giving, but you are the exception not the rule. What the civics books say and what the statutes mandate and what reality then demonstrates are often quite divergent lines as you must know. Looking forward, I do believe that as the landscape gets even politically meaner across the country on all sides of the aisle, we will have fewer good people running, even back in your old hometown. Many blogs, while providing great potential for a flow of unfiltered truth, have become highways of psycho-political road rage which most normal citizens would never wish to subject themselves and their familities to through the mere act of volunteering to run for local political office.
April 12, 2011 at 11:02 pm
Wake Up, I can agree with much of what you wrote. I stand by the point the School Board members (and all local elected folks) choose to run, they are making the decision to comply with what is required of the job. There’s an Old West saying: if you’re going to ride for the brand, you’ld better learn the lay of the land.
The said could be same when the choice is made to be elected. Would you run for an elected position? I wouldn’t, and not because of the blogs etc. etc. where mud could be flying….I can do more for this City by being able to be a advocate and a resource both as a resident, and serving on boards or when asked to sit around in a living room and toss around the issue. An able body in other words. My personal view is what scares most folks from running or serving on some boards is the Annual Disclosure Statement. I also believe there will always be someone locally who will want to step up and run (regardless of party), and then the old saw of “All politics are local” comes into play.
My expectations of an elected leader is not based on viewing it in a hypertechnical way or unrealistic. When the choice is made to become an elected leader, then they should lead following whatever leadership style they either know or make the deliberate effort to learn. Returning this to the school budget, I have watched that percentile grow in increments over the years, and even allowing for increased student population and teacher salary, over the last five years there has begun a decline in the overall performance. A smart leader, knowing there are voices asking why we keep increasing, would stop and begin to take a hard look at how the money is going. People who are responsible with their own money do this; so a leader should do it with the money they are stewards of. COM and Rob both take that stand too.