About
Adam Beam covers the City of Columbia for The State newspaper. Here, he blogs about local government. Reach him at (803) 386-7038 or abeam@thestate.com
Tag Archives: Bill Ellis
A city department gets it right
I’ve written lots of stories about Columbia’s missteps, including this one and this one.
But today, some city employees were recognized for doing something right.
The city’s purchasing department won the Excellence in Procurement Award for 2009, one of 59 cities across the country and the only city in South Carolina to receive the award, according to this [...]
The liquor rebate fund?
Columbia doesn’t have much money at the moment. South Carolina’s capital city has had to lay off employees and buy out others, and even reduce some staffing at some fire stations in order to make ends meet. So city officials have to get creative to find money.
That’s where the liquor rebate fund comes in.
Now, before [...]
Columbia's monthly magic numbers
Interim City Manager Steve Gantt likes to budget in twelfths. That is, he likes to break everything down by month. If you are a department head, and your total budget is $1 million, then you should not spend more than $83,333.33 per month.
The city’s largest expense is the salaries and benefits it pays its employees. [...]
Columbia 2009 deficit approximately $9 million
Columbia is now six days into the new budget year, which means the I-have-been-set-free accounting department is busy closing the books for the 2009 budget year.
Preliminary numbers do not look good.
Bill Ellis, the city’s interim chief financial officer, said the city earned about $104 million in 2008-09. They spent about $113 million. I’ll do the [...]
Posted in Columbia city government Also tagged 2008-09 budget, Bob Coble, budget cuts, Columbia finances, Kirkman Finlay Leave a comment
Your guide to tomorrow’s City Council meeting