Police protection tops the budget list

Independence’s proposed budget for the coming year make’s the city’s priority clear: police protection. 

City Manager Robert Heacock on Monday proposed to the Independence City Council a $255 million operating and capital budget and Finance Director Jim Harlow provided the budget’s overview.

The latest budget represents a 2.8 increase over the previous year’s, Heacock said, adding the city’s general fund revenues in the proposed 2008-09 budget are $70 million, excluding federal grants. The amount is up from the $68.1 million estimated for the current 2007-08 fiscal year.

Heacock said public safety needs represents about 53 percent of the city’s general fund.

“Our priority has been to fund the Police Department and public safety,” Heacock said. “Overall, if you look at priorities, it’s primarily public safety in respect to this budget.” 

Heacock said the $22.4 million earmarked for the Police Department is an 8.2 percent increase in police funding from the previous budget and will allow the department to offer the equivalent of 7.4 new full-time positions. Another $171,000 of the budget will help fund two school resource officers and a truancy officer to assist seven schools being shifted from the Kansas City School District into Independence School District. The district is covering 70 percent of the cost, Heacock said.

“We think that is an important partnership,” Heacock said.

The budget also includes a $104,000 increase in fuel costs for the Police Department. The increase is “beyond our control,” Heacock said.

Heacock said sales tax revenues along with fees collected from the city’s public utilities represents 62 percent of the revenue for the general fund.

“That’s 62 percent of the budget from things really sensitive to things like the economy and weather,” he said. “There is no easy solution to that.”

Heacock proposed $100,000 to install an elevator in an unused elevator shaft at the National Frontier Trails Museum and renovate the second floor of the tourist attraction.

“We have one of the best collections of diaries and artifacts in the country related to the frontier trails movement,” Heacock said. “If we are really serious about preserving our history and our heritage, we need to support that.”

The council will hold several meetings in the coming weeks to review department needs for the proposed budget. A public hearing is scheduled for May 19 and the initial reading of the budget ordinance will be June 2. The council will vote on the budget June 16.