Warrenton aldermen approved a six-month budget, which goes into effect July 1 and lasts through Dec. 31, during the June 20 meeting.
The budget was approved 6-0.
The budget is only set for …
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Warrenton aldermen approved a six-month budget, which goes into effect July 1 and lasts through Dec. 31, during the June 20 meeting.
The budget was approved 6-0.
The budget is only set for six months because Warrenton is changing its fiscal year end to Dec. 31. A new budget will be developed for aldermen to approve that will go into effect Jan. 1.
“Due to the fact that we’re going to convert our fiscal year to a calendar fiscal year, we have to do this little short budget here for six months,” Finance Manager Dana Belaska said during the meeting.
The new budget includes more than $15 million being carried over from the previous budget and an additional $8,085,136 in new revenue.
The city plans for more than $5 million in operating expenses, $9.6 million in capital expenditures, and $1.1 million in debt repayment.
“On the capital list we have allocated the remaining funds that we had in the ARPA allocation to the city. So those funds are listed under the capital projects on the use of ARPA,” Belaska said.
The city expects to finish the six-month budget with slightly more than $1.4 million to carry over to the next fiscal year.
During the budget discussion, Mayor Eric Schlueter discussed why the city was changing its fiscal year.
“There were multitudes of reasons why we decided to go ahead and switch our annual budget and approval times,” he said. “One of the bigger reasons, I believe, was we may get a new alderman in April and we’re already ready to approve something within the next meeting and it’s not really fair for a new alderman. This gives somebody about six months to kind of settle in and be able to get used to things and it’s a little easier that way.”
The city’s two largest sources of expected revenue come from water and sewer and sales tax. The budget includes increases to both sewer and water rates and amounts for almost $2.6 million of the expected revenue.
The new rates are expected to cost an average residential user an additional $3.37 a month.
The city also expects to collect more than $3.3 million in sales tax, a 3 percent increase from the previous fiscal year. The budget also includes an estimated $123,000 for recreational marijuana sales tax.
The budget also plans for a 3 percent increase in property tax.
The two largest operating expenses are expected to be police and animal control and public works. Those two departments are expected to spend more than $2.6 million.
The budget also includes a 6 percent pay increase for police and laborer positions. Other positions receive an average of a 4 percent pay increase, which includes both performance-based and merit increases.
Warrenton police officers will now start at $25 an hour and laborers will start at $20 an hour.
The payroll increases go into effect on July 1 and are effective through the end of the year, Walters told aldermen during that meeting. An additional 2 percent increase would be provided in January to serve for all of 2024.
“Instead of doing another increase in July, we would start it in January,” City Administration Brandie Walters said during the public budget planning meeting on June 13. “So that way we get everybody used to the new fiscal year.”
Two positions within the public works department are eliminated under the current budget, according to Belaska’s introductory letter.
“They are functioning on a smaller scale now and they’re doing good,” Walters said during the planning meeting.
The new budget includes $550,000 for improvements to the Warrenton Athletic Complex, including projects to add a concession stand with restrooms and to turf one of the fields.
Aldermen opted for that project instead of upgrades at Morgan Park, though the budget does include $175,000 to demolish the old pool and buildings, and remove the fencing.
Additional improvements, though, were postponed.
“Maybe we can re-look at it in the next couple years after we get the athletic complex upgraded like you guys are wanting,” Walters said during the planning meeting.
About the author: Jason Koch is the editor of The Warren County Record, and covers local news and government for the newspaper. He has won multiple awards from both the Indiana and Illinois APME and from the Illinois Press Association. He can be reached at 636-456-6397 or at jason@warrencountyrecord.com
