Moving along cautiously

December 02, 2008 10:59 am

— Chelsea L. McGowan
cmcgowan@weatherforddemocrat.com
Daily, new reports surface showing yet another aspect of America’s economy taking a beating in this era of financial turmoil.
One of the latest shows the nation’s cities facing some hard decisions as they deal with rising foreclosure rates and falling tax revenue.
“Almost every city in the country is feeling the impact,” said Chris Hoene, director of policy and research at the National League of Cities, in an article published by USA Today. “Local officials know that if things are tight now, tougher choices are coming.”
Citing the most recently released local economic indicators, Interim City Manager Jerry Blaisdell said the City of Weatherford is still somewhat insulated from the financial woes plaguing cities across the country.
“So far, the downturn doesn’t seem to be affecting our region,” he said. “We’re watching the sales tax indicators closely, but our last review shows sales tax is still up about 8 percent. We’re not seeing the decline in the housing market that other parts of the country are seeing. We’re very fortunate.”
Although all indicators show Weatherford’s economy is healthy, measures are still being taken to ensure the local economy is ready for any hits that may still come.
“One of the things we’re doing right now is downsizing through attrition — not filling positions when they become vacant,” Blaisdell said. “We’re not filling anything that isn’t critical to the delivery of services, so we have about seven positions we’re holding open right now.”
In addition, a study is being conducted to review city services and the fees charged to residents who use them. Blaisdell said there are no current plans to eliminate any services or raise any rates, but conversations are ongoing.
“The study will be presented to the city council after the first of the year,” he said. “We’re monitoring the economy very closely so we can see what needs to be done and anticipate what’s going to happen in the future.”
Blaisdell has said previously the 2009 budget for the city was constructed conservatively in preparation for the downturn. However, he said the foreseeable future of the city’s economic structure looks promising.
“Right now, Weatherford’s looking good,” he said. “Sales tax is still rising. We’ll still curtail our spending just to see what the financial situation is going to do over the next 18 to 24 months, but at least for the immediate future, everything looks OK.”