Arlington City Council approves 2010 budget
By ADAM RUDNICK
Arlington Times Reporter
December 15, 2009 · 12:37 PM
ARLINGTON — The City Council made its shrunken 2010 budget official during its Dec. 7 meeting.
The Council officially approved Mayor Margaret Larson’s proposed $66.7 million budget at the meeting.
Approximately $1.8 million, covering all city departments, was cut from the budget, city officials said.
The budget accounts for 15 full-time city positions that have either been eliminated or kept unstaffed.
Eleven of those positions came in the form of early retirements or voluntary layoffs, which saved the city approximately $1.1 million in salary and benefits, said city of Arlington spokeswoman Kristin Banfield.
City staff have been working to reduce the 2010 budget for the past few months, and a preliminary budget was presented to the Council in October, according to a city memo.
On Nov. 16, the Council held a public hearing on the mayor’s proposed budget.
“This has been the most difficult budget to prepare for the city for as long as I can remember,” Larson wrote in a letter to the Council in November. “Simply put, this 2010 budget is a bare bones budget that funds essential services only.”
State law requires the 2010 budget be approved by Dec. 31.
Contact Arlington Times Reporter Adam Rudnick at arudnick@arlingtontimes.com or 360-659-1300 Ext. 5056.Comment on this story.
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