Salary increases will vary for Little Rock employees next year depending on which union represents them.
Police Department employees will receive a 3 percent raise in 2018, and, thanks to contract negotiations handled by the local Fraternal Order of Police union, they are also guaranteed another 2.5 percent raise in 2019.
Fire Department employees as well as nonuniform workers covered by the local American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees will also receive raises, but the amounts have not been finalized.
Officials said they should come to an agreement with the local International Association of Fire Fighters union sometime next week. Percentages are still being calculated for the other workers.
Employees under all three unions will also continue progressing in their step-and-grade pay scales.
Under a step-and-grade pay scale, employees are assigned a certain grade category that has a starting minimum salary associated with it. Each year on an employee's hiring anniversary, he moves up one step on the scale, which equals a 1.8 percent pay increase, until he reaches the maximum assigned for his grade.
Nonunion employees, such as management, will also get a 2018 raise, but the amount has not been set.
"We are still trying to work out those details, but I do believe we will have salary increases," City Manager Bruce Moore said Tuesday when he and his staff gave a budget overview presentation to the Little Rock Board of Directors.
The budget will be voted on at a Dec. 19 meeting.
Public presentations are planned at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at the Southwest Community Center at 6401 Baseline Road and at 6 p.m. Dec. 7 at the Centre at University Park at 6401 W. 12th St. to give the community a chance to comment.
For the second year in a row, Little Rock's budgeted expenses will exceed the projected yearly revenue. Expenses are expected to hit almost $209 million, while 2018 revenue after transfers is projected to come in at a little more than $208 million.
To make up for the $780,000 shortfall, Moore said he found one-time funds, not from the city's reserve accounts, to balance the budget.
The resulting $208,963,275 budget is a 1 percent increase over the 2017 amended budget, representing almost $2.3 million in additional costs in 2018.
"That is a very small increase over this year's existing amended budget," Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola said.
Total personnel cost is expected to increase by about $6.4 million, to almost $159 million. About $6 million of the increase is due to raises and benefits for police and fire employees. That includes adding a new telephone reporting unit and the police recruit incentives.
Little Rock has turned to financial incentives as a way of attracting new police recruits to a department that, as of Nov. 14, had 84 sworn officer vacancies. The incentives have included a $5,000 signing bonus for recruits who complete the agency's training academy. New recruits also receive another $5,000 for buying a home in Little Rock.
The city will add 21 positions next year, for a total of 2,175 positions. While the personnel cost is the amount the city would spend if it were fully staffed, the budget assumes about $6.5 million in savings from keeping certain positions vacant, meaning the actual cost won't be so great.
Little Rock budgets vacancy savings each year in order to keep a balanced budget. For example, the city budgeted a little more than $152 million in personnel costs to cover its 2,154 positions last year, but only spent $146.7 million.
The allotment for the city's weed lot care program increased to $500,000 in the 2018 budget, up from the $330,000 budgeted this year. The program has gone over budget in previous years and had to have budget amendments to make up for the difference, so the city decided to allocate extra funding on the front end this year.
Little Rock will pay the Arts Center $928,450 next year. Most of the money is to meet the city's contract that promises $700,000 yearly for maintenance. The remainder is what is projected to accrue from the 1 percent lodging tax increase approved by voters that is dedicated mostly to fund the Arts Center.
The city's funding to Rock Region Metro will increase by a little under $330,000. Stodola said the funding is based on the number of miles the bus service's routes cover in the city. City Director Doris Wright questioned the increase when some routes in her ward were altered or cut. She said she won't support the budget with an increase to Rock Region.
Increased city revenue is expected on several fronts in 2018. Property tax revenue is expected to rise 3 percent, to $29.6 million, while county and city sales tax revenues are each expected to increase by 2.5 percent, to $43.2 million and $58.4 million, respectively.
The city sales tax money has slowly increased each year since the new tax collection began in 2012. It was $52.2 million that year.
Franchise fee revenue is budgeted to rise by 6.6 percent, to $29.5 million, after two years of declines. This puts franchise fee allocation slightly above the $29.3 million the account reached in 2015. A little under $28 million was collected in both 2016 and 2017. Franchise fees are fees collected on customers' energy, water, sewer, cable and telephone bills.
The city estimates a 1.5 percent increase in business license revenue next year, bringing that revenue up to $6.84 million. The fee amount will remain the same, but the city expects more licenses to be purchased.
Fines and fees from parking tickets, court, animal services and police report purchases will stay at about $2.4 million next year. That revenue has steadily decreased since 2013 when it was about $3.3 million.
Metro on 11/29/2017