City council reviews 2016-17 budget during monthly working session
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Wednesday, June 8, 2016, 2 p.m. (UPDATED with meeting video, June 9, 2016) — The Bardstown City Council’s working session Tuesday was dominated by a group discussion about Mayor John Royalty’s proposed $49 million 2016-17 city budget.
Councilman Fred Hagan discusses the revenue challenges facing the 2016-17 budget during discussions Tuesday night at the Bardstown City Council working session.
The council’s committees have examined the budget requests by the city’s individual departments, but Tuesday marked the council’s first group discussion about the budget. The working session — which was interrupted in order to conduct a special-called council meeting — resumed once the special meeting adjourned.
With Councilman Fred Hagan leading the discussion, the council found agreement on a number of budget items to remove, amend or preserve in the city’s 2017 budget.
Hagan told the council that due to the shrinking utility reserves, the city will need to address creating more revenue later this year using one of the four ways it has to increase revenue. These methods include raising the occupational tax rate, increasing the city’s property tax revenue, or creating new taxes via a utility franchise tax or an insurance premium tax — or any combination of these taxes.
Last year, the council avoided raising the occupational tax, but removed its $100,000 cap.
ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT. After turning down requests for the past several years to fund replacement of the city’s 22-year-old digger truck, the majority of the council agreed to do so in 2017 at a cost of approximately $200,000. The existing truck will be transferred to the water and sewer department, Royalty told the council.
Fire Chief Randy Walker explains the need for additional funding for firefighter uniforms at Tuesday’s council working session.
After discussion, the council agreed to leave $60,000 in the budget for a new apprentice lineman for the city electric department. Hamilton explained the hire would make sure the city has sufficient utility linemen if someone leaves or retires.
WAGES. The council discussed the mayor’s request for employee pay raises based on salary ranges. The budget includes a 4 percent raise for employees who make less than $50,000 per year, and a 3 percent increase for those who make more than $50,000 a year.
Tracy Hudson, the city’s chief financial officer, said the 4 percent figure arose after a request was made to raise the city’s garbage tipper’s pay to $14 an hour.
After discussing a number of options the council agreed to leave the existing proposal in place, and requested Hudson to have some alternative numbers available at the budget’s first reading next Tuesday.
The council also agreed it would not to fund a request to create a new groundskeeper position in the coming year’s budget.
STREETS & SIDEWALKS. The council discussed but left alone the request for $600,000 in street repairs and paving, mostly of which will go to repaving a substantial portion of Parkway Drive in the Nelson County Industrial Park.
COUNCIL CONTINGENCY, TRAINING FUNDS. The council agreed to leave the proposed training money in the budget of $1,000 per council member. Elimination of the council’s $10,000 contingency fund was discussed but it will the consensus was to leave it in the budget.
Councilwoman Kecia Copeland supported keeping the contingency fund for the benefit of future councils as well.
Councilman Bobby Simpson responds during Tuesday’s council working session.
POLICE. The request for four new police cruisers — at a cost of $200,000 — was reduced to $150,000, which will fund the purchase of three new and one used police cruisers.
A request for $16,500 to purchase new rifles for the police department’s FLEX special response team was reduced to $6,500.
FIRE DEPARTMENT. The council agreed it would not fund a request for $650,000 for the purchase of a new pumper truck. The council also agreed it would not fund a request for approximately $20,000 for uniforms for the city’s volunteer firefighters.
Fire Chief Randy Walker told the council the city’s volunteers will eventually be required to spend time at the fire station, and he wanted to give its volunteer firefighters one uniform. The department also wanted to move from a polyester/cotton blend fabric to uniforms made of Nomex, a flame resistance material.
CITY PARKING LOT. The council opted to not fund a $150,000 request to redesign and resurface the parking lot at the rear of City Hall in the next budget. Public Works Director Larry Hamilton said the city will go ahead and work on the design in anticipation of paving the lot in the next budget year.
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