By Matt Fredmonsky
Record-Courier staff writer
The city of Kent has been saving money gradually in recent years by not filling city jobs as employees retire, resign or are terminated. But that cost savings is slowly decreasing.
City Council received an update Wednesday from Barb Rissland, the city's budget and finance director, on the city's financial status. Rissland reported on the final numbers for Kent's 2007 financial records and gave a year-to-date summary on the city's income and expenditures.
Kent City Manager Dave Ruller said the city has had fairly significant vacancies when compared to the city's overall employment numbers.
"And when you have vacancies for an extended period you save a significant part of your budget," Ruller said. "That trend is declining."
In 2007, 18.4 full-time equivalent city positions, or roughly 10 percent of the city's overall staff, were vacant, Rissland said. As a result, several of the city's departments reported expenditures for the year finished under the planned budget number.
Overall, the city saved $1.3 million in relation to the city's planned expenditures, Rissland said.
"Close to $800,000 of it was due directly to vacant positions," she said. "Once we start filling those positions those savings, or unspent monies, are going to go away."
Early this decade, the city averaged 10 position vacancies per year from 2000 to 2005. In 2006, that number jumped to 21. In 2007, the city had 17 vacancies. So far this year, the city has nine vacancies.
"We've been holding these positions for a while," Rissland said. "We are filling them now."
Ruller said the city administration polled council members and held multiple community meetings in recent years to gather input about the existing level of community services provided by the city with the decreasing staff levels.
"One of the messages that you all sent back to us was "You need to go back and fill positions,' and we said we're going to go back and fill positions," Ruller said.
Approximately 72 percent of the city's governmental funds pay for city staff salaries and benefits. So far this year, Kent has saved $185,000 through vacant staff positions. The city still maintains approximately $11 million in reserve funds separate from programmed budget expenses.
Ruller cautioned council members not to read too far into the budget numbers Rissland presented.
"We've been able to stay under budget, which is always good for the reserve fund," Ruller said.