by Nicole Bradford
An ongoing meet and confer program, salary needs, and economic conditions are among unknown factors as Pearland leaders begin balancing the city’s budget.
“Depending on how things go, we could see some significant commercial and residential development that is in the pipeline start to impact us positively,” City Manager Trent Epperson told city council members during an initial budget session on Monday. “Timing is going to be key on that.”
Legislative changes are also unknown factors that could negatively impact cities, such as an increase in personal property tax exemption and possible limits on the amount of debt cities can have and how debt can be issued.
“This (legislative) session has probably been the most aggressive toward cities,” Mayor Kevin Cole said. “I would be looking at this as lean as possible, with voter approved projects at the top of the (priority) list.”
Savings already in the works include fewer printed annual reports and copies of Pearland in Motion, position reviews, and possible restructuring across all departments.
Monday’s discussion included having “a much more moderate run” of the city’s annual calendars that, instead of being mailed to all residents, would be available at public facilities.
Printing and mailing of calendars currently costs upwards of $60,000.
“What’s important is we look at every single one of those types of expenses to see if it’s something we can cut or modify,” Mayor Kevin Cole said. “Not just the big expenses. It all adds up at the end of the day.”
Council Rushi Patel encouraged Parks and Recreation to evaluate fees vs. costs, including for summer programs that often sell out in minutes.
“If you’re giving them the best programs, make money off it to cover costs in other places,” he said.
Epperson said the department will examine fees in the fall.
