City budget hearing set for May 11
DBell@CalhounTimes.com
The Calhoun City Council will host a public hearing regarding the proposed 2020-21 fiscal year budget on Monday, May 11, at 7 p.m.
City Administrator Paul Worley told council members during their Monday night meeting that the current proposed budget would be balanced and provide a slight surplus at the end of the year. It was crafted with the expectation that sales tax revenue, as well as funds from the local hotel-motel tax, will be down due to the ongoing pandemic, and it does not require a change in the current millage rate.
The total budget is projected to be just more than $15 million, while the total expenses are planned at $14.873 million. Worley said the proposal is only slightly higher than the current fiscal year budget, and that increase is mostly a result of a 9.5% hike in employee insurance costs.
“The department heads did a very good job at holding the line on the costs they can control,” he said.
Worley and council members had met earlier in the day to discuss details of the budget, and Mayor Jimmy Palmer praised Worley and other city employees for working to produce a budget that does not require a millage rate increase.
“Because of all the concerns about the coronavirus, we handled it a little bit differently this year, so I appreciate all the hard work,” he said.
Calhoun Utilities Director Larry Vickery said during the meeting that all of the utility budgets are lower than the current year, due in part to uncertainty surrounding revenue expectations. He also noted he has asked his department heads to hold off on any large capital purchases for the time being.
The detailed proposed budget can be viewed on the city’s website (cityofcalhouga.com) on the Finance Department page. State law requires the council to hold at least one public hearing on the budget, but Palmer noted that public participation could be limited by social distancing guidelines issues by the governor.