The new budget for the City of Smithville will include matching funds to replace the Holmes Creek Bridge, an upgrade of the waste water treatment plant, pay raises for employees, a new sanitation truck, the addition of a new full time officer in the police department, new equipment for the fire department, and the city will increase its contribution to Justin Potter Library from $500 to $5,000.
City aldermen, with Danny Washer and Jason Murphy absent, voted 3-0 last week to adopt the new $6.6 million budget ordinance on first reading. Action on the second and final reading is scheduled for a special meeting on June 28.
The new budget, which totals just over $6.6 million, will see no increase in the property tax rate, which will remain at 64.9 cents per $100 of assessed value. The city property tax rate is budgeted to generate $820,000.
Water and sewer rates will also remain the same, at $5.00 per thousand gallons of usage for customers inside the city limits. Rates for customers outside the city are $7.50 per thousand gallons. City sewer customers will continue to pay $5.00 per thousand gallons plus the flat usage rate of $3.62.
The rate the city charges the DeKalb Utility District will increase from $2.67 per thousand gallons to $3.00 per thousand gallons.
Total general fund revenues for 2016-17 are projected to be $3,127,010, not enough to cover total estimated expenditures of $3,976,981. The city plans to appropriate $849,971 from the general fund surplus if needed to balance the budget.
The water and sewer fund is expected to show a surplus of $157,925 by years end with total revenues at $2,622,600 and expenditures of $2,464,075. But the 2016-17 water and sewer fund is supported by a $500,000 grant for sewer plant rehabilitation which is counted as income to the city for just one year.
Hourly and salaried city employees will get a three percent pay raise, except for police officers who are due to get an increase in pay under the department’s wage scale for all hourly employees. The police department wage scale, which was an eight step plan, will stop at six steps. The last two steps are being eliminated to keep police department salaries from getting too far out of line with other city workers.
In an effort to reduce overtime within the police department, the city is changing the officers shift schedules and creating a new full time officer position. With the new hire, the police department will have fourteen full time members including the chief, captain, one lieutenant/investigator, two sergeants, an investigator, and eight full time officers, plus two clerks.
General Fund Capital outlay projects for 2016-17 total $692,000, and include:
•Fire Department equipment- $116,000
•New sanitation truck and trash containers- $350,000 (unspent from 2015-16 year)
•Street Department-Holmes Creek Bridge Project & Unspecified- $60,000
•Police Department Car & Unspecified- $30,000
•New Animal Shelter- $75,000 (unspent from 2015-16 year)
•Airport: Taxiway Initial Design & Unspecified- $20,000 (Mostly funded by grants)
•City Hall Building (Unspecified)- $25,000
•Public Works-Buildings & Grounds (Unspecified)- $5,000
•Parks and Recreation- $5,000
•Financial Administration- $1,000
•Legislative-$5,000
State Street Aid: Paving-$350,000
•Water and Sewer projects including the following:
•Sewer Plant Rehabilitation- $2,750,000
•Tube Settlers for Water Plant- $40,000
•Backhoe-$80,000
