City Council approves $839.6 million budget for fiscal year 2009-2010

(June 16, 2009) - City Council today approved an $839,624,833 total budget for the City’s fiscal year 2009-2010 that includes a General Fund budget of $350,351,044.

Major changes in the FY 2009-2010 budget include:

• A new Development Services Department that combines inspection services for zoning, nuisance abatement, abandoned housing; business licensing and Animal Welfare that will streamline functions and ultimately improve services to citizens and developers.
• A new Office of Sustainability funded with economic stimulus funds that would enhance the City’s current energy efficiency efforts and promote sustainability throughout the organization and the community.
• Implementation of a Medical Services Program (TotalCare) that offers emergency ambulance service to citizens and reduces the City’s General Fund subsidy to EMSA by $3.3 million.
• A significant increase in street resurfacing and maintenance efforts with the use of $15.2 million economic stimulus funds.
• No additional services or program improvements for General Fund departments was included in the budget; the number of positions remains flat at 4,455, same as last year.
• No pay increases for City employees.
• No reductions in the Police and Fire department budgets.

In other actions, the Council approved using one million dollars of the savings from implementation of the Medical Service Program (TotalCare) to balance the General Fund budget and using the remaining savings as a stabilization reserve in the fiscal year 2009-2010 budget to be used if actual revenues come in lower than projected.

The Council also amended the 2009-2010, proposed budget to increase the funding of the Transit Department General Fund by $169,200 to enhance bus service on Route Nos. 8 and 40. Funding will come from the new Medical Service Program (TotalCare) revenue stabilization reserve.

Route No. 8 extends from the downtown central business district to Wilshire Boulevard and the NW Expressway via NW 63rd Street. Route No. 40 extends from the downtown central business district to SW 104th Street via Walker Avenue, Western Avenue and Santa Fe Avenue. The addition of these peak hours buses will cut waiting time almost in half during the busiest times of the day.

“We’ve put together a responsible budget considering the current economic times,” City Manager Jim Couch said. Our goal was to develop a budget that had minimal effect on our citizens, even with the slow growth in revenue, and we were successful in doing that.”

The FY 2009-2010 budget is available in the Budget & Finance section on the City’s Web site, www.okc.gov. The adopted budget will take effect on July 1.