It will be a budget with no tax increase and includes $200,000 taken from Powell Bill funds for street improvements along with restoring limited Saturday hours at the library and recreation center, City Manager Paul Sabiston said today.
The proposed budget also includes money so the fire department can buy a swivel for its ladder truck and includes $54,000 for a fitness center at T.J. Davis.
Sabiston explained, however, while the money for the fitness center will be included, it won’t be spent until funds are raised through advance memberships and sponsorships to pay for the first year of operation.
The city manager has said the investment, through memberships, could bring the city back $120,000 in two years and that much of the equipment could be financed.
The swivel is the biggest budget concern in the fire department, Chief Gary Corbet said during an earlier budget session. In his budget notes Corbet said the swivel operating the turntable of the aerial ladder “is worn to a point of possible failure. This failure may occur at any time when we have raised the ladder.”
The manufacturer — KME — says the piece may fail the next time it is used or it may last two to three years.
The proposed budget will also be funded by taking $200,000 from the general fund reserve fund and money from the theater reserve fund.
A budget work session will be held next Thursday at 3 p.m. in the first floor conference room of city hall.
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