Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and City Council members held their annual Budget Retreat today to discuss the mid-year financial report for the 2012-13 Fiscal Year and to begin developing a framework for the 2013-14 budget.

During the retreat, Mayor Rogero gave a brief overview of her administration's progress. "The budget reflects the vision and goals of our city. We remain committed to the vision of building a greener city, a lively downtown, stronger neighborhoods, a high quality of life, and growing businesses and jobs," Mayor Rogero said.

Finance Director Jim York reported that revenues and expenses for the current year so far are largely in line with forecasts. Local-option sales tax figures are running a little under projections, but there have been gains in real property taxes and an uptick in business taxes. The mid-year budget report is online at http://knoxvilletn.gov/budget.

Mayor Rogero also told Council that City departments have been implementing ways to save taxpayer money and improve services.

Among those proactive measures are using City staff to do maintenance after events at the Civic Coliseum instead of hiring outside vendors; reorganizing Public Service staff in key locations to strengthen operations; and having staffers in the 311 Call Center make follow-up calls to customers for feedback to improve efficiency.

City staff also gave updates on the status of key capital-funded projects, including the Cumberland Avenue Corridor Project and South Waterfront. (For more information, see the City Projects page at http://www.knoxvilletn.gov/projects.)

The next step in the 2013-14 budget process is the Mayor's budget hearings March 20th-22nd. Mayor Rogero will present her budget to Council and the public on April 26th.