City hosts second FY21 budget hearing
DBell@CalhounTimes.com
Members of the Calhoun City Council conducted the second of two public hearings regarding the fiscal year 2021 proposed budget of $15,06,389 on Monday evening with no members of the public in attendance.
City Administrator Paul Worley went over some of the details of the proposal, which he called a “very conservative budget on both revenues and expenses.” The economic shutdown that has resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic has made the process uniquely challenging for city officials, he said.
The proposed budget does not require a change in the city’s millage rate of 2.6, but the city does expect a revenue increase of nearly $300,000, or about 15.6%, from property taxes thanks to an increased tax digest value.
The budget will be up for approval during the council’s next meeting on Monday, June 22.
One change since the city council’s last public hearing is that a potential 2% cost of living raise for city employees has been built into the budget, though Worley cautioned that any drop off in revenues could impact that raise.
Worley noted that the pandemic and economic shutdown had already resulted in lower-than-expected revenues from decreased utility usage, Special Purpose, Local Option Sales Tax collections, hotel/motel taxes and excise taxes. He said the March numbers were not as low as expected, but that the numbers for April would better help officials predict what could happen in the coming months.
“We were able to cut out $700,000 of projected revenue and still present a balanced budget, so we’re really happy about that,” Worley said Monday.
On the expenditure side, the city’s proposal includes $14,873,860 to be spent during the next fiscal year. The main factor contributing to a cost increase is a 9.5% bump in employee health insurance cost. Worley said the current industry trend is about a 12.5% increase in that area, so the city did come in lower than average.
Overall, the health insurance increase will cost the city an extra $180,000. The total expenditure in the FY2021 budget, however, is only $100,000 higher than the current year.
Other notable details from the proposed budget:
The assistant city administrator position will not be filled at this time. The job has been left vacant since Worley was promoted to his current position earlier this year.
About $96,000 has been budgeted for the city to continue targeting dilapidated housing. So far, 12 homes have been demolished and about 16 have been remodeled.
The Calhoun-Gordon County Library and the Tom B. David Airport will each see a 3% increase in their allotments from the city.
One additional patrol officer was added to the police department.
The Fields Ferry golf course is budgeted to bring in an additional 3% in revenue, or about $909,295 total.