City officials have been building a “rainy-day” budget surplus in recent years that can provide a cushion in what could be a difficult 2021 because of troubled economies caused by the covid-19 coronavirus.
“I think we’re being very conservative,” Smith said. “I honestly don’t think we’re going to see a $1.6 million deficit, but with the unknown right now, with the pandemic, we again have been hyper-conservative on this.”
The city expects to spend $48.67 million in 2021, up from $47.86 million in 2020.
Smith said the city’s top three budget priorities are:
― Improving Hamilton’s neighborhoods;
— Supporting small businesses; and
— “Providing top-notch public services, spaces and amenities,” because those three factors help attract large businesses.
Hamilton this year will spend 70.43 percent of its general fund on public safety, including police, fire, courts and 911 dispatching services, Smith said. He noted police and fire spending will be significantly higher in 2021 than they were in 2016: Almost $5.6 million higher than the combined $25.48 million, at $31.08 million.
There will be significant safety-force spending, including $750,000 in Fire Quint replacement, $475,000 apiece to replace two fire engines, $350,000 for new police cruisers, $300,000 to rehabilitate Fire Station 25 at 335 N. Erie Blvd., $200,000 to buy a life squad using CARES Act money and $150,000 for police body cameras and tasers.
In efforts to strengthen city neighborhoods, the city plans to perform a $50,000 blight audit of most buildings in the city. It also will spend $171,000 boosting other code-enforcement efforts across town.
The city will double its budget for building demolitions to $200,000 and buy $300,000 more equipment for its Quick Strike Team.
“I sent an email to City Council I think in the last couple of weeks about the Quick Strike Team and the activities they are working on,” Smith said. “That’s literally everything from abating homeless camps in the city to illegal dumping. They’ve collected thousands on thousands of illegally dumped tires.
“We’re trying to give them the tools that they can attack these more quickly so when neighborhoods or residents call us, or a business calls us and says, ‘Someone’s established a homeless camp behind us, someone’s illegally dumped behind us,’ we can help those neighborhoods and those businesses in a quicker, more efficient fashion.”
The city also will spend $27 million on utility and roadway upgrades and improvements, he said.
“And I just want to be clear that this does not include the additional three-plus million we’ll be spending in 2021 through the street-levy funds,” he said.
Of the spending, $17 million will go to Hamilton Enterprise Park to increase electric and water service. Another $7.4 million will go toward improving or modernizing utility plants. Yet another $8.98 million will be used to fix such utility infrastructure as poles, sewers and mains.
Meanwhile, the city will expand its Craft & Cocktail Quest Program and will launch an “Operation Takeout” program to support restaurants that are expected to suffer during the second wave of coronavirus illnesses this winter and spring, he said. The city also will work to expand other take-out and curbside parking opportunities while also expanding outdoor dining locations for the same reason, he said.
Among other departments that experienced cuts, the city’s planning, civil service and finance operations will be down $493,000 from the spending plans adopted for them in 2020.
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