An anonymous individual recently circulated a flyer within the Southbridge community that unfairly criticized Garden City’s finances. Contrary to these incorrect assertions, Garden City has a long history of conducting its financial operations in a fiscally conservative and sound manner. Garden City’s financial stewardship has resulted in the City being nationally recognized for excellence in both budgeting and financial reporting, a distinction held by less than 2% of municipal governments in the country.
When examining Garden City’s current financial position, it is important to remember that the City’s FY2008 & FY2009 financial information (both budget and audit data) is atypical because it reflects significant one-time expenditures related to our Town Center project as well as the impacts of the recent economic downturn. In FY2010, the City’s finances are returning to more typical expenditure and revenue levels.
It is also important to note that the annexation of Southbridge would ultimately be a relatively inexpensive proposition for Garden City. The City’s annexation analysis indicates that the only services that would NOT have a corresponding revenue source to offset the expenditure are street lighting and police protection. In 2011, the City will utilize existing cash reserves to fund this additional $250,000 service delivery cost. Beginning in 2012, the City anticipates that an additional $500,000/year of Local Option Sales Tax revenue would be realized from the increased population that the annexation of Southbridge would bring Garden City. This revenue would exceed the estimated costs for street lighting and police protection by approximately $250,000/year.
In a continued effort to dispel rumor and enable the free and open exchange of annexation information, Garden City felt compelled to publish a more comprehensive rebuttal to the criticisms leveled in the flyer. A copy of our comprehensive rebuttal is attached below.
If you still have questions, concerns or comments about Garden City or our annexation proposal, I urge you to contact the City so we can answer the questions that are important to you.
Rebuttal to Anonymous Flyer