$5.5M Lost From 2012 Budget For The City Of Madison, WI

The normal schedule of vehicle replacement for the next two years will be disrupted, according to a letter from Mayor Paul Soglin’s office, as part of the City’s efforts to reduce borrowing. Due to the budget situation the City faces, the Mayor’s proposed budget allots less than half of the amount originally requested for Fleet Services for 2012.

The mayor’s executive budget provides $4,868,450 (a loss of $5,568,450 from requested $10,436,900). Projects which included replacement of equipment, replacement of fire equipment, and the ongoing installation of a GPS system in the Public Works fleet are all now subject to restructuring or outright cancellation.

The GPS system installation will receive no funding for 2012, and a proposed facility upgrade will also not receive any funding. The original amount requested for equipment replacement was $4,365,000 and the amount the 2012 budget will provide is $1,227,015. For fire equipment, the requested amount was $1,315,900, and the amount provided will be $1,041,435.

A facility upgrade vs. relocation project has a $2,600,000 allocation allotment in the executive budget. $4 million was initially requested. The executive budget for fleet services states that purchasing an existing facility would reduce travel time by fleet and fire department staff for vehicle maintenance and repairs and would cost less than constructing an entirely new facility. Another property could be reclassified as surplus and sold to offset the cost of purchasing and renovating the facility.

The Mayor's letter outlining the budget belt-tightening cited a change in the Expenditure Restraint Program (ERP), a new limit on the levy, projected fuel cost increase of $2.4 million, and a projected increase in health insurance costs as sources of budget woe. Also cited was the expense of the 2012 national elections which would bump the yearly tally to four, at double the usual election-day expenses.

Soglin's letter ended on a sanguine note: "For your agency budgets, I ask that you submit a budget at a level five percent less than your 2011 budget, with, in some cases, adjustments provided by the Finance Department. I regret the necessity of asking you to undertake this difficult task and I thank you for your cooperation."

NAFA Fleet Management Association
125 Village Blvd., Suite 200
Princeton, NJ 08540

Telephone: 609.720.0882 Fax: 609.452.8004