MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: DATE: RE:
Common Council of the City of Lawrenceburg Mayor Dennis Carr October 29, 2012 Veto of Budget Ordinance 16-2012
Dear Members of City Council: Pursuant to Indiana Code section 36-4-6-16, this letter is to serve as notice to you that I am vetoing Ordinance 16-2012 which was presented at the October 24, 2012 Special City Council meeting, for the reasons that follow: 1. Under Indiana Code section 36-4-7-6, the preparation and presentation of the budget estimates is to be made by the Clerk-Treasurer after consultation, review and revision by the Mayor and his department heads. Only after reviewing a report by the Clerk-Treasurer of said budget estimates can the Common Council “prepare an ordinance fixing the rate of taxation for the ensuing budget year and an ordinance making appropriations for the estimated department budgets and other city purposes during the ensuing budget year.� I.C. 34-4-7-7. The budget passed by City Council did not follow this procedure and in fact was prepared by only three (3) Council members with no input from the other two (2) Council members. Therefore, under Indiana Code 34-4-7-11, the City will likely revert to the existing 2012 budget and levies. 2. The budget passed by the City Council effectively eliminates the property tax levy for 2013. This Administration supports efforts to maximize the benefit of Riverboat revenue to help residents of the City of Lawrenceburg; however, the property tax provision proposed would result in a disproportionate relief to non-resident landlords (comprising approximately 55% of property owners) and corporate property owners. The City is already under its maximum allowable levy and this will continue in 2013. Based on my estimates, the City will be approximately $365,000 under its maximum allowable levy in 2013 which would translate to about a 6% savings for property owners. 3. The last and most important reason is that the budget passed provided no compensation for four positions on my staff and drastically reduced another, the majority of which are union positions. These positions are an integral part of the day-to-day operations of the executive branch of the City. Additionally, specific ongoing and future projects would be impossible to complete as required without these key staff members. I call upon the entire Council to come together to support a meaningful plan to utilize Riverboat revenues to help residents. I will support a plan for 2013 that incorporates using Riverboat revenue to relieve the costs of utility bills. This is a program we can initiate in 2013 and effectively pass on savings that will benefit residents of the City of Lawrenceburg. ________________________________ Dennis Carr, Mayor