The Minden City Council approved what Mayor Tommy Davis called a “balanced” budget for 2016-2017 during the council’s monthly meeting Tuesday night.
The $32,231,880 budget is made up of $31,876,900 in expected revenue for the city in the next fiscal year. Moving $354,980 from the reserve account will fill the gap, Davis said.
“It’s a good budget, a very balanced budget,” the mayor said. “It’s very straightforward.”
While the council approved the budget Tuesday, the budgeting process begins many months earlier. City Clerk Michael Fluhr and the mayor begin looking at numbers, projects, wants and needs early in the year. Once preliminary drafts are prepared, the council gathers for a series of workshops to discuss the proposed budget and make suggestions or requests for items to be added or eliminated.
Once the budget meets with council approval, it is available for public perusal at city hall for several weeks before a public hearing is held for comments and concerns to be voiced.
Following those steps, the council passes the budget during the September monthly meeting.
In other news, Minden residents will see an increase in their October utilities bill.
The council unanimously voted to adopt Ordnance No. 1075, which will increase the base price for sewage service to $9 for residential and commercial users.
Sewer charges are calculated by the amount of water users consume per month.
Currently, residents are charged a $5 base price for sewage service if they use under 2,000 gallons of water during the billing cycle and $2.95 for each 1,000 gallons over.
Under the ordinance, the price for each thousand gallons over the initial 2,000 will remain at $2.95.
In other action, the council hired Wise, Martin and Cole, LLC to perform the city’s annual audit.
The city hired the local firm based upon “the quality of work, their expertise in the field of governmental auditing and the cooperation exhibited by their auditing team.”
The cost of the audit will range from $56,000 to $61,500.
The Minden City Council recognized the Dixie Youth 11 Year Old Louisiana State Champions at Tuesday’s meeting.
Other news:
- The council recognized the Dixie Softball Angels State Champions and the Dixie Youth 11 Year Old Louisiana State Champions.
- Adopted a resolution for an emergency generator and Minden Airport improvements.
- Adopted the Webster Parish Hazard Mitigation Plan.
- Adopted a resolution in support of “CC Ready.”
- Adopted amendments for 2015-16 budget.
- Approved a special event permit application request for the Fasching Festival.
- Approved a city fleet management contract.
- Approved authority for the mayor to advertise a request for qualifications for engineering consulting services for Minden Airport Projects.
- Accepted the monthly police report.
The Minden City Council recognized the Dixie Softball Angels State Champions at Tuesday’s meeting.