Wright City plans to run at a slight surplus of roughly $124,000 this year in the budget that was approved at the board of aldermen’s Dec. 26 meeting.
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Wright City plans to run at a slight surplus of roughly $124,000 this year in the budget that was approved at the board of aldermen’s Dec. 26 meeting.
That budget projects $3.9 million in revenues and $3.7 million in expenses, both of which are significant increases from the previous year. In its 2024 budget, Wright City projected $2.84 million in revenue and $2.81 million in expenses with a meager surplus of just over $36,000.
Alderman Ramiz Hakim had spoken about a potential deficit at the meeting, but clarified that he was referring to their 2024 budget, which he said may run at a slight deficit depending on where tax revenues fall compared to projections.
While they did not project significant increases to real estate and personal property tax revenues, estimates for sales tax revenues increased from $750,000 budgeted in 2024 to just over $1 million in 2025.
The city projected real estate tax revenues at $422,400 and personal property tax at $96,390.
Hakim said the projected increase in revenues was largely driven by the growth in sales tax and new developments in the city.
One significant expense was roughly $400,000 in bond payments that include monies used to improve city hall and the police department as well as repairs to streets, specifically Roelker Road. Officials also downplayed the impact of these payments since they will be decreasing year-by-year.
While revenues are expected to increase significantly, expenses are rising at a commensurate rate.
“I feel like with so much new stuff coming in, this is just the investment we have to make to do so much more to set ourselves up for success,” said Alderman Karey Owens. “So I’m okay with it, we just really have to keep an eye on every single penny.”
One of the largest increases was to the police department’s budget as they are planning to expand in the next few years. The department will see a roughly $600,000 increase in its operating budget, which will rise to just over $2 million in 2025.
Hakim noted this increase may be deceptive, since a portion of the increase is being paid for by the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services to help cover salaries and benefits for two new officers and a new detective.
The other increases were attributed to the purchase of new police vehicles and other equipment.
“Until our tax money comes in, we’re not really going to know where (2024’s) budget fell for sure,” said Mayor Michelle Heiliger. “Compared to what we budgeted, we’re good, but if you have a bunch of people who are dealing with the same economy that we’re all dealing with, and they don’t pay their taxes this year, that could really hurt us.”
Other large expenditures included nearly $700,000 for the administration department, $600,000 for the streets department and roughly $231,000 for the building and code department.
While the city does routinely revisit the budget every six months, Hakim felt that given the uncertainties with tax revenues from 2024 they should consider holding those discussions sooner.
“Maybe we should re-examine (the budget) at the beginning of April, just to take a quick glance at it and make sure that the numbers for 2024 look good,” said Hakim.
