If adjustments are not made to the Pullman budget, projections for 2012 predict that the city funds will be too low to operate on.  

“In 2007 and 2008, we were right around $3.5 million,” Finance Director Bill Mulholland said at Tuesday's Pullman City Council meeting. “In 2009 and 2010 we dropped down. In 2011 we were around $1.5 million. An estimate if we do not change anything in our current budget right now is in-between revenues and expenditures that we have, we shortfall about $900,000.” 

The Pullman City Council discussed budget trends for the upcoming year and presented plans on the expenditure of the remaining 2007 bond funds.

Mulholland presented statistics on the decreasing budget.

“There are items that we need to address in the budget this year in order to reduce that amount considerably, or in 2012 we will be down to around $500,000,” he said. “We are not able to operate on this."

In addition to the budget problem, the department of revenue filed an adjustment of taxes from 2004 to 2010 showing the Pullman owes $331,000 for over-payment during that period, Mulholland said.

“We are still trying to find out the basis for the adjustment,” City Attorney Brian Werst said. “Because this is a taxpayer issue, there are extreme confidentiality issues involved. We do not have a lot of information even though it involves a public agency at the state level. What we do know is that it was driven as a result of a tax exemption.”  

The data presented in the budget presentation was a driving factor in the expenditure of the remaining 2007 bond funds, he said.

City Supervisor John Sherman discussed using the remaining funds to make improvements to Pullman paths and parks in correlation with one of the 2011 council goals. The improvements could include a spray pool, a path project and renovations of lighting on city playfields.

Council members expressed concerns about spending money on parks and recreation due to the budgetary concerns for 2012.

“It may be tempting to take this money and fill the sales tax loss, but we cannot do that,” Sherman said. “The bond can only be used for park and recreation facilities.”

Councilman Nathan Weller said the improvements are needed but it will be hard to justify using this money.

“While this is a great opportunity, this is going to be a hard thing to justify to people concerned with the budget,” he said.  

Weller said much of the public does not realize that excess money in one fund cannot be used to cover expenses in another.

The council agreed that the only improvements that should take place are ones that will benefit the budget by adding profit or decreasing upkeep costs. 

In upcoming and current events in Pullman, the Fire Department is holding the Passionately Pink for the Cure fundraiser where all fire department employees will wear bright pink shirts while on duty throughout the month of October in support of Breast Cancer Awareness  Month, Mayor Glenn A. Johnson said. Funds will be raised and donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure fundraiser.

As part of the partnership between the City of Pullman and Washington State University, the university is going to wrap a number of Pullman Transit buses with the WSU symbol. A special community celebration will be held at 10 a.m. this Saturday by the Cougar Pride Statue on Stadium Way to unveil the new look of the Pullman Transit buses, Johnson said.

Unless cancelled, the regular meetings of the Pullman City Council are held at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays in the council chambers of Pullman City Hall at 325 SE Paradise Street. Notices of cancellation and complete council agendas are posted on the City of Pullman website. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 18.