Monroe council begins 2016 budget discussion
The Monroe City Council kicked off a lengthy budget discussion Thursday, reviewing a number of departmental financial proposals presented by the administration as part of the 2015-16 fiscal year budget.
The council addressed the general fund revenues; special revenues and expenses; legislative department; executive department; administration; legal department; city court; marshal; fire and police departments, raising questions about certain projected revenues and requested expenses.
The budget discussion was relatively peaceful compared to previous meetings, though the council questioned several expenditures requested by Mayor Jamie Mayo, including the amounts he requested for travel, car allowances and contributions to various organizations, including the Monroe Jaycees, Teen Court and others.
Chairman Ray Armstrong said the budget is expected to be introduced by March 24 and finally adopted by April 14.
“The operating budget is probably a municipality’s most important product. It serves a number of functions, but at its most basic level, it’s a legal document that gives city officials the authority to incur obligations and pay expenses. It allocates resources among departments and controls how much each department spends,” Armstrong said.
The proposed budget is $59.1 million with revenues matching expenses. Last year’s budget totaled $58.9 million.
Sales tax revenue, which makes up 60 percent of the general fund revenue, is projected to be $36 million in 2016. Property tax revenue, which accounts for 12 percent of the general fund revenue, is $7 million. The general fund is the city’s main operating account.
According to Armstrong, one of the biggest topics of discussion throughout the budget process will be improving resources for people to obtain jobs above minimum wage.
Armstrong said he has several initiatives he hopes can be addressed in the budget with one of the main pushes being offering programs that provide skilled training to minimum wage employees.
He has suggested the administration use $2 million from the economic development fund to provide programs that could help elevate the “at-risk population” and give them opportunities to develop skills to find better employment.
Armstrong also wants to examine City Court and see how the council can help speed up the process in handling more than 10,000 active arrest warrants. He also would like to find community service programs rather than jail for some offenders since it costs the city money to incarcerate someone when they can’t afford to pay a fine.
Follow Scott Rogers on Twitter @lscottrogers.