More Budget

Here's some additional stuff since my last budget post--the stuff that got finalized. Also, there will be a public hearing about the budget at our City Council meeting on March 7. And if I can digress, I don't get those mandated public hearings. They do give the public a chance to comment, but they are not going to change anything. We have deadlines for the state, and publication, so even if somebody came up with a really good idea at the public hearing, there isn't much we could do about it. The time for public commentary is when we are crunching the numbers in February.

We set the employee raises at 2% effective July 1. Also $20,000 was cut from proposed capital expenditures from the pool (which also includes the park and tennis courts just south of the pool)

The water budget went from 141,000 to 185,000. But that jump includes setting aside $55,000 for water tower repainting. It has not been painted since its installation in 1995. We also need to paint the inside. Not that I ever thought about it, but the inside of the water tower is painted as well, in case you didn't know that.

The sewer budget went from 163,000 to 199,000. Much of that new expenditure is to help us meet regulations regarding the sewer. We are setting money aside for upgrades and we will have an added cost for sump pump inspections.

Another note, our debt payment for the new Bryan and Arthur Street additions went up from 25,000 to 30,000. That was planned in the payment. We also have $8000 or so less in spending in the coming year, as we do not need an audit.

Let me know if you have any specific questions about the budget.