Owensville aldermen on Monday concluded several months of planning with adoption of a balanced $4.515 million operating budget for fiscal year 2021-22 which begins July 1.
Ordinance No. 1363 was approved on a 4-0 roll call vote following an advertised public hearing.
“We are balanced,” said Mayor John Kamler during the brief public hearing of the balanced $4,515,774.60 budget which does not include any anticipated carry-over surplus in any account.
There were no public questions asked or comments made on the proposed budget.
City Administrator Randy Blaske credited City Clerk Bobbi Limberg for her work on helping prepare the budget and guide the board through a series of workshops over the past couple of months where details were ironed out in each department’s spending plan. Limberg is scheduled to retire at the end of the year.
The General Revenue fund, which includes accounts for administration, elected officials, emergency management, police, and fire coverage, lists anticipated revenue of $1,535,737.60 from all sources. Planned expenditures of $1,535,737.60 include $582,476.80 in General Revenue, $16,150 for elected officials, $28,799 for emergency management, $708,311 for police protection, and $200,000 for fire service.
The city’s budget for volunteer fire service also receives a $100,000 contribution from the rural fire association membership.
The city’s Water and Sewer fund will also operate on planned balanced revenue and expenditures of $1,317,100.
The Street fund is also scheduled to operate on balanced revenue and expenditure figures of $728,642.
The city’s Park fund, which is broken into three separate categories, is also scheduled to operate on a balanced budget with estimated revenue of $934,295 and expenditures to match.
The Park fund listed anticipated revenues of $429,644 and an equal figure of expenditures. The Golf fund lists $126,601 in anticipated revenue and the same in expenditures. The Pool fund shows equal figures of $378,050 for revenue and expenditures.
The city’s public works budgets includes several substantial projects using previous balances.
Prior balances will help fund $73,000 in equipment purchases for the street department (including a skid-loader), $100,000 for a sewer line extension project along Fourth Street south of Jackson, $20,000 in upgrades to a sewer lift station on Marvin, and a water line maintenance project on Second Street for $10,000.
The city will also use $100,000 in capital improvement sales tax revenue for new playground equipment at Buschmann Park. The city’s Parks Commission also plans to use $40,000 worth of interest earned from the Milford H.H. Winter bequeathment along with funds from the half-cent sales tax.