In June 26 - July 2 issue
By Derek Aaron
Times Journal Reporter

RUSSELL SPRINGS - A City Commission's special called meeting last Thursday saw city leaders hear and accept the second readings of this past fiscal year's amended budget ordinance and the budget ordinance for the 2008-09 fiscal year, among other business.

Ordinance 2008-04 amended the budget for the fiscal year that began on July 1, 2007 and ran through June 30 of this year.

The city commission has reviewed the budget proposal and made all necessary modification and adopted this past fiscal year's city budget, according to City Clerk Wendy Burton.

The fund balance carried forward to the city's general fund was $581,359. Burton said the estimated revenues in the general fund came to $1,919,054 with a total carried forward of $2,500,413.

The city's expenditures from the general fund are as follows: $480,923 for general government, $701,770 for police, $75,000 for fire, $210,000 for streets and public works, $196,889 for parks and recreation and $43,100 for water and sewer for total appropriations of $1,707,682. The estimated fund balances at the end of the fiscal year for the city of Russell Springs is $792,731, according to city figures.

Other estimated fund balances at the end of this fiscal year are $125,000 for utilities, $85,593 for municipal road aid, $26,744 for the fire department, $8,398 for drug forfeiture and $280,478 for the Alligator sewer project, which is costing a total of $2,250,000.

One project completed during the past fiscal year was the Russell Spring Senior Citizen's center, which costs just over $240,000 to build.

Ordinance 2008-05 was adopted, by estimating revenues and appropriating funds for the operation of city government, to be the annual budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Burton said the city fund balance carried forward $792,731 in the general fund. With the estimated revenues, they city expects to have $2,431,331 available with $1,649,576 as total expenditures with the estimated fund balance at the end of the fiscal year at $781,755.

"Everyone needs to understand that a budget is a work in progress," said Mayor Hollis DeHart. "If it wasn't a work in progress it wouldn't be necessary to come back and make adjustments."

The city also expects to have the Alligator sewer project completed in the coming fiscal year, according the budget.

The commission also heard and accepted the second reading of ordinance 2008-06 which updates the current compensation plan. The Governor's Office for Local Development has determined that the consumer price index increased by 4.081 percent during the 2007 calendar year.

The ordinance states that the commission recognizes the need for the city's salary scale to remain current in order to maintain an effective and efficient workforce.

The new fiscal year salary scale may be waived, altered or suspended only by a change of ordinance.

Mitchell Morgan of Morgan Sanitation, who has picked up trash within the city under his current contract since 2003, came to an agreement with the city on a new 3-year contract after diesel and gasoline prices have continued to rise exponentially, prompting a new rate change of $11 per month, with $2 going to the city and $9 going to Morgan Sanitation, for household trash collection within city limits.

The city chose to keep the same health insurance, Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield, as it had in the previous year saying it was more financially feasible than other health plans they researched.