Budgeting for Mandeville's future subject of debate

The long and arduous process to determine how the Mandeville government plans to spend public money during the upcoming fiscal year reached a crescendo Thursday night with a chorus of opposition chiming in. The City Council approved separate ordinances for capital and operational spending during a marathon meeting that featured questions about the city’s future financial health. Much of the debate centered around Mayor Clay Madden’s approximately $29 million operating budget for 2025-2026. While they acknowledge that the spending plan is “balanced,” critics say the city’s operational expenses are outpacing revenues.  The opponents pushed for immediate budget cuts and urged the council to take a “fiscally responsible” approach to spending rather than continuing to “kick the can down the road.”

Glen Runyon, a Mandeville resident who has studied the budget and is a frequent commenter at council meetings, said he and others have been trying to raise the council’s awareness of the long-range outlook of the city’s general fund, which covers the cost of much of the city government’s routine work. He was among several speakers at the meeting who urged council members to recognize that revenues can’t keep up with the rapidly rising city expenses, including salaries and benefits for employees. Denis Bechac, a former member of the Mandeville City Council, lauded Runyon’s efforts to promote sound fiscal policy and said it’s past time to stop the depletion of the city’s reserve funds. “Critical to this effort is the balancing of recurring revenues with recurring expenses,” Bechac said. “As proposed by the mayor, this budget does not do this. It’s up to our council to amend the budget and cut expenses this year to help mitigate the operational budget’s shortfall.”

At-large Councilman Scott Discon suggested the city government cannot keep “looking away” from the shortfall. “I don’t see any effort by the mayor or the administration to solve this issue,” Discon said. Councilman Kevin Vogeltanz offered several amendments that would have trimmed expenses from the budget, including eliminating about $90,000 to fill a clerical position and reducing pay raises for city employees from 2.5% to 1%. All were voted down by the council. Council member at Large Jason Zuckerman said the budget critics are focused on the general fund, but that several other city funds have fund balances totaling more than $80 million.

 

Cuts to operating and capital expenses this year would, in essence, add to the fund balance, which would amount to “stuffing more money into the mattress,” he said. He acknowledged that recurring general fund revenue is falling short of general fund expenditures, but that the issue should be solved through a reallocation of sales tax revenue while simultaneously cutting taxes.

“There is no fiscal crisis,” Zuckerman said. The council ultimately passed Madden's operating budget proposal by a 4-1 vote, with Discon casting the lone dissenting vote. The council voted unanimously on the mayor's capital budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

 

Earlier in the meeting, the council approved the creation of a committee to investigate ways to solve the shortfall issue. The meeting, which lasted more than four hours, ended with Madden thanking the council for what he called a fruitful budgeting process that included numerous public hearings and the exchange of useful ideas. However, he took a stab at some critics for trying to “sabotage” the process.