By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
The Jacksonville City Council approved a $19.04 million budget on Thursday night that included 2 percent raises for all employees with a caveat. That caveat is a $1,000 cap.
Shortly after approving what the mayor called “a good, lean budget,” the council tied the city to a $2.4 million bill to update the communication center’s communication system. The annual payment of $600,000 starts in January 2013.
Mayor Gary Fletcher said everyone worked hard on the budget “and the public won’t see the effects of any of the cuts we’ve made.”
He added that there wasn’t a lot of fluff to cut, but the city tightened the budget by resetting priorities.
“We felt it was important to mange our resources so that we could show our appreciation to our hard-working employees. Hopefully, if the economy continues to improve, we can give a bigger raise in 2012,” the mayor said.
He said that the general fund budget is slightly higher than the amended 2011 budget but lower than the original 2011 budget.
“All departments worked hard to keep their budgets as low as possible but still all departments showed a slight increase over the amended 2011 budget.
Of the $19.04 million budgeted for the general funds, $12.5 million will go to public safety, $3.8 million to public works, $2.2 million to general government and $530,000 to the court.
The council also approved a $2.2 million street fund budget for 2012, a $1.9 million budget for sanitation and $1.2 million for the emergency medical fund.
Revenues set for the street fund come up short by $225,000, and that amount will have to be pulled from reserves.
In other council business:
Aldermen approved the 911 center enter into a $2.4 million contract with Motorola to replace the communications system to make everything digital in public safety. Both the mayor and Tabby Hughes, the 911 center director, said the current radio system was old, outdated and parts weren’t being made anymore.
Jim Durham, the director of city administration, said the 911 center could be close to a major disaster if the system isn’t replaced. “Our backup system is portable radios and landlines.”
It was explained to the council that the Motorola system was compatible to the state’s new radio system, and the state would take over the maintenance if the city went to the Motorola system. Durham said most cities in Arkansas are being faced with this requirement from the federal government. He called it one of “those unfunded federal mandates.”
The council approved a three-tier increase in sewer rates. In January, the base rate will increase to $12.95 for the first 2,000 gallons and then $4.54 per 1,000 gallons after that. In the second year, the base rate goes up to $14.63 and then $5.13 per 1,000 gallons and in the third year the base rate hits $16.39 and then $5.74 per 1,000 gallons.
