Don’t be surprised if challengers to the mayor and incumbent City Council members continue to complain about city finances up until Election Day. While there is always room for improvement, the city financial report released Tuesday shows a local government that has been a responsible steward of public money and has been functioning well despite cuts in property tax revenue.

Some challenges to city spending are legitimate (some consultant costs) while other are truly political nitpicking (repaving a parking lot). But the overall picture is one that would make officials in many other Indiana cities envious.

Here are the answers to some questions about the city’s 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.

What’s the bottom line? How much did Mayor Tom Henry and the City Council raise my property taxes:

Property tax revenue has, in fact, gone down each year Henry has been mayor. The 2010 total was $92.3 million – 6.8 percent less than 2007, the year before Henry took office.

The Henry administration seems to be taking a lot of credit for cuts, but aren’t they mostly due to City Council members and the state’s property tax caps?

The council elected in 2007 has made negligible budget cuts.

No doubt, the property tax caps have reduced revenue to the city, but unlike many other Indiana cities and towns, Fort Wayne officials budgeted in preparation for the cuts.

“There’s so many cities and towns that would like to be in the position of ” Fort Wayne, said Pat Roller, the city’s controller since 2004.

Note, too, that the city has spent less than budgeted for each of the past three years.

The city has other revenues besides property taxes. Did city spending increase?

Last year’s actual spending of $175.9 million was essentially flat with 2009 – an increase of less than 1 percent. Just as importantly, the city spent nearly $5 million less than budgeted, adding to city reserves. At the end of 2010, the city’s general fund held $19.7 million in reserves.

According to the report, the city’s long-term debt has jumped nearly $100 million? How did that happen?

It’s an accounting change, not additional debt. In 2008, the General Assembly voted for the state to assume cities’ obligation for pensions of public safety officers hired before 1977.

Those retirees in Fort Wayne and other cities essentially have an unfunded pension plan that requires next year’s payments to be paid from next year’s budget.

Though the state has agreed to make those payments, the State Board of Accounts still wants the pension obligation on the city’s books – in case, apparently, the state would again decide not to fund them, which is unlikely.

Still, some candidates worry about the city’s indebtedness. How much did that increase in 2010?

At the end of 2010, the city owed lenders about $176.5 million – $13.2 million less than 2009.