Mayor trims the city's fat, lives up to promises

Indianapolis Star 9/8/2009

City government in Chicago was essentially closed for business one weekday last month.

Residents couldn't check out books from public libraries. Garbage trucks didn't roll down city streets. Health clinics didn't open. Chicago residents will endure two other "no service'' days later this year. Non-union city workers also will lose 15 days of pay in the final six months of the year.

 

It's a story repeated across the nation.

Seattle has closed its famed libraries for a week. Dallas plans to lay off hundreds of city workers. Denver has furloughed workers and may lay off as many as 90 police officers.

Indianapolis, although certainly facing its own financial challenges, has avoided such drastic cuts in services. Mayor Greg Ballard, in a meeting with The Star Editorial Board, insisted the city has no plans for layoffs or furloughs in the year ahead, despite the fact that employee costs make up 70 percent of the city budget.

Ballard even promised that most residents wouldn't notice any significant loss in services.

How has Indianapolis been able to avoid what has befallen so many other cities? In his first two years in office, Ballard has often struggled in his role as the high-profile chief executive of the nation's 13th-largest city. But his work, and his team's work, on the budget has been a shining example of what he does best -- focusing on the details of the organization, searching out efficiencies, eliminating the less-than-necessary for the sake of the essential.

It must be acknowledged that Ballard and the city have benefited from several important steps taken by others. The General Assembly, as part of last year's tax reform package, assumed responsibility for paying for pre-1977 police and fire pensions as well as child welfare costs and indigent health care. Money saved from police and fire department consolidation, proposals first pushed by former Mayor Bart Peterson and later supported by Ballard, also will save the city millions of dollars in next year's budget.

But even with that assistance it's been Ballard's chore to lead the city through tough fiscal times. And he has shown he's up to the challenge.

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Although some provisions in the state's property tax package have reduced the city's expenses, the reforms also will slow the revenue stream. City Controller David Reynolds is projecting a loss of $30 million in tax revenue as a result of property tax caps that go into full effect next year. The city also is projecting revenue to be flat for the next three years.

While Indianapolis has avoided the types of drastic budget cuts common elsewhere, there's still cause for concern about the neglect of some long-term needs. The parks department, saddled with $121 million in delayed maintenance needs and capital costs, faces an 8 percent budget cut next year.

 

Indianapolis already spends considerably less on its parks than peer cities. Columbus, Ohio, budgeted more than $47 per resident for its parks this year; Indianapolis will spend $31 a resident in 2009.

A deep backlog in infrastructure repairs also has forced the city to explore privatization of such operations as parking meters and even the Mayor's Action Center as a way to raise cash. Such proposals must be weighed carefully case by case.

Yet, Indianapolis may well escape the pain other cities are now enduring. In contrast to layoffs and furloughs elsewhere, the new budget even calls for a small pay raise for the city's lowest-paid workers.

In handling the city's finances, Ballard is delivering on his campaign promises to provide good, no-frills government.