Monday, July 21, 2008

Some Budget Questions

I've been meaning to write this up for weeks, just a few questions I had as I read through the budget, I'd be curious to find out the answers to in the future... Not to say anything is out of line, but some changes bear some questioning:
  • Internal Audit funding down $150K, nearly 40% from their request. Will internal audits be hampered by lack of funding?
  • Codes administration cut 5% from current year, 15% from their request. Implications on codes enforcement?
  • I was surprised to hear that J.J. Jones Sunday stated on WBIR that KCSD funding has only gone up "one percent," yet the current year budget has large increases in Sheriff's Administration (5%), Patrol (9%), Warrants (30%!), Detectives (22%!), etc.
  • Vehicle services up 18%- I guess that's gas prices.
  • Building maintenance up 10%
  • Capital outlay for eight (8) vehicles outside of patrol cars and engineering/codes/etc vehicles- how many need to be trucks/SUVs, and how many can be defined so that more fuel-efficient (and less costly) vehicles can be purchased? Over their lifetime, a more efficient vehicle purchase could save taxpayers $160,000.

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