June 25, 2010

SUISUN CITY - Suisun City Council members will vote Tuesday on a 2010-11 budget that once again manages to deliver city services to residents without cutbacks.

The proposed budget avoids furloughs, staff cuts and service reductions, Suisun City Finance Director Mark Joseph said in his report.

Suisun City proposes to spend $10.3 million in its general fund, which pays for most day-to-day operations from police to public works.

It also allows the city to keep a reserve which is sustainable for the next three years if income and spending manage to stay static, Joseph said.

The present $3.6 million reserve is expected to shrink to $2 million by June 2013.

Suisun City has been using what Joseph and City Manager Suzanne Bragdon have called a bridging strategy to tide the city over, using income from land sales and reserves until revenues pick up again.

Suisun City has continued to see economic development with the arrival of the Hampton Inn & Suites and new businesses moving into the Harbor Square development, they said.

And the proposed Walmart in eastern Suisun City is resolving the issues it has with permitting agencies and slowly, but surely, moving closer to construction, Bragdon said earlier.

This coming fiscal year, the city plans to update its General Plan, fix up much of Main Street, expand the Grizzly Island bikeway, put in interim parking areas downtown and rehabilitate Chyrl Way.

By Ian Thompson - DAILY REPUBLIC