2013 Budget up for Vote Thursday

After a  aiming to get public feedback on the city's budget and  , St. Pete's 2013 fiscal year budgeting process is almost complete.

At 6 p.m. Thursday, the city will host its first of two public hearings on the 2013 budget at City Hall. 

City council will vote on the 2013 budget and tax rate during the first public hearing. Then, at the Sept. 27 hearing, residents will be allowed a second opportunity to comment on the proposed spending plan before a final vote is taken. 

At the center of the debate is how to come up with $10 million to cover the budget shortfall in 2013, which has a $472 million budget. that would tax all parcels in the city. 

Those who call the , such as council member Steve Kornell, are clamoring for the city to increase the millage rate. 

"I’ve been a steady no on this," . "I feel that it’s regressive and harms poor people on the front end and on the back end with non-profit and churches who also help poor people."

Council member Charlie Gerdes agreed. 

"I think that when it comes to funding the necessities of government, which certainly fire is, I still believe the least number of ways that we are able to reach into a constituents pocket is better," Gerdes said. "My policy would be to raise the millage rate. Use the mechanism that already exits."

Budget cuts alone, have not been seriously discussed since the first public budget workshop in April. 

Should the fire readiness fee not hold up in court or council not formally approve it Thursday, the council did approve the earlier this summer. 

"This option is available for council to set in the event that the fire readiness fee option is unavailable," said Budget and Management Director Richard Bulger at a July council meeting. "Between the fire readiness fee and the millage ... both will generate roughly the same revenue."

During that meeting council approved to set the 2013 millage rate at 6.7742 mills should the fire tax fail.  

In March, the People's Budget Review launched. Aiming to get 10,000 city voices on the city's budget — it has nearly 6,000 — the group will announce the results of its latest budget survey at the Sept. 13 hearing.