City OKs '15 budget after tweak

A reduction in what the city will pay neighboring Little Rock for a regional homeless center gained narrow approval Monday evening by the North Little Rock City Council before aldermen passed a $61.62 million general fund budget for 2015.

The council voted 5-3 to decrease a requested $176,941 by $51,941 for the city's share to fund the day resource center for the homeless in Little Rock. The reduction will put the city's funding amount equal to this year's $125,000 amount.

Alderman Debi Ross, who made the motion, was joined by Maurice Taylor, Steve Baxter, Bruce Foutch and Murry Witcher in voting to reduce the appropriation. Aldermen Beth White, Linda Robinson and Charlie Hight voted against the reduction.

Mayor Joe Smith tried to hold off on decreasing the amount, saying that Little Rock has asked for requests for proposals for a private company to take over running the center. North Little Rock is to fund one-third of the cost and the increase in the amount was requested by Little Rock for next year.

The center is part of Little Rock's 10-year plan begun in 2006 to eradicate chronic homelessness in central Arkansas.

"We will know by March or April," whether a company can take over the operation, Smith said. "At that time, all expenses will be fixed.

"I'd like to see us continue what we have right now," he added. "I assure you between now and budget time next year we will be at a fixed amount."

Ross and Foutch both said their concern was that there isn't a limit now on how much North Little Rock's cost will be each year.

"I want to take it back to $125,000 and if Little Rock comes back with something reasonable, that's fine," Ross said.

Foutch agreed that a limit needs to be set, adding that as the resource center's becomes more successful in providing services, it also means "getting more people to show up needing services, then the more money it needs."

Smith reminded aldermen that helping to fund the center was "our responsibility to share in the cost" through an agreement between the two cities.

Ross also proposed decreasing the city's funding request to Central Arkansas Transit Authority by $61,522, saying that CATA planned to provide raises for its employees, when the city wasn't able to provide raises for its employees next year. Her motion failed 5-3. Ross, Baxter and Foutch were the only supporters.

Smith said that a reduction in the city's share to the public transit system would result in bus service within North Little Rock being reduced in turn.

Foutch countered that CATA is paying a consultant for a bus route analysis and a study to rebrand the agency.

"If they can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to rebrand, they can figure a way to better spend their money," Foutch said.

Several of the aldermen spoke against that reduction.

"If we reduce service, people here will be affected by that," Robinson said.

Witcher said that while residents in his Ward 4 aren't frequent bus riders, businesses in the ward have many workers who use the bus to get to and from their jobs.

"One of the issues is if we don't provide that service, it affects employment," Witcher said. "You have to have a viable public transit system in some form."

The city will draw $1.54 million from its reserves to balance the 2015 budget. Much of that is because the city will have a 13 percent increase in providing health insurance for its full-time employees and spend $1.25 million to upgrade its fire engines.

Metro on 12/09/2014

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