Budget time. Pay attention.

Killeen politics is mostly about posturing, self-aggrandizement and special interests.  That's not said as a slam on the last City Council or any particular group of city leaders; it's been the case generally for the 35 years I've lived here.

The one essential duty of the City Council is to approve the annual city budget, and there's a truism you should never forget:  You can't count on them getting it right.


This year the traditional failure to pay attention to the budget will have very serious consequences.  For the last couple of years, the city budget has not really been balanced.  Payments (including the Connie Green settlement) came at the cost of reducing the "reserve" -- the bank account the city maintains to make sure it can meet its obligations in the worst case.  A reserve of 25 per cent. of the budget is the fiscally-responsible level.  That (in round numbers) is where we are today.

The problem is that we've drawn all we can from the reserve.  The 2012-2013 budget will have to be paid for entirely from taxes and fees.  And there are huge demands on those resources:

The city continues to expand, requiring more fire, police, EMS, parks, sewers, water, road maintenance, right-of-way maintenance, library services and trash pickup.

Our infrastructure is aging.  The city's vehicle fleet is decaying.  Drains and sewers are another year older.  The streets need paving whether we have revenue or not.

The cost of health care for city workers continues to increase.  Keeping good city employees requires them to get occasional (it's been too occasional lately) pay increases.

So what do you want?  Do you want taxes and city fees to go up? Do you want city services to degrade or get better (keep in mind here--we're talking about how long it takes the fire department to get to your house, or KPD to respond to your 911 call)?  Do you want new city services or a reduction in city services?  Do you want streets and sewers to improve or are you OK with them deteriorating?

If the past is any guide, you can't count on the city council making good decisions in these matters.  You need to  make your wants and needs known.

The 2012/2013 budget process starts next Tuesday (March 20) at 1700 at the Utility Collections building (College and Ave. C).  Be there.  Learn what the challenges are and the alternatives.  Suggest some new alternatives.  Don't assume your elected representatives are going to do it because a) They never have; and b) most of them have been recalled anyway.