Gainesboro Mayor Lloyd Williams questioned if the town could operate in the black for the upcoming fiscal year after a first reading of the new fiscal year budget Thursday.
Town Recorder Darla Pippin said she has talked with consultants who believe the town will be ok. The budget does feature raises for city employees, but Williams said he believes the proposed raises are too high.
“I just don’t want us getting in bad shape,” Williams said. “For me, I’m looking at both budgets, it’s not looking good right now. I’m just, I’m for everybody getting everything they can, but you know, like I said, we doubled our taxes what, a year and a half ago, two years. I would hate to come back here and do it again.”
Alderman Beth Young said the raises are not the same across the board and will be dependent on years of experience and qualifications.
Williams said the town needs to cut spending somewhere in the budget. Where to cut spending in the budget is still a question to be answered, he said.
Young said the upcoming fiscal year will be a lean year for Gainesboro and that the board is doing the best it can to provide raises.
“We looked at all of that, and we tried to do everything we could,” Young said. “We cut budget left and right, but we know we have to give our employees some kind of raise.”
Alderman Tom Goetz said he believes that if the town can control overtime and expenses, then investing in the city is the right thing to do. Williams questioned Goetz on how the town can control overtime.
“If Mickey (Gainesboro Police Chief Michael Smith) gets a guy off, he’s gotta have overtime, there’s nothing Mickey can do about it,” Williams said. “I mean that’s what I’m saying, we can’t control it or we would be controlling it now.”
The board approved to set the tax rate at a rate of $0.8000 per hundred dollars assessed value on property within the city limits. Budget work will continue in the coming weeks.
The board approved to pay an estimated $285 for annual UCHRA dues. The board also approved an additional requested match of $1,500 for matching grant funds.
Aldermen approved the purchase of two new workstation computers from United Systems in the amount of $6,536. The board approved a part-time streets employee.
