Members of the Laurel City Council this week began revisiting the city’s budget issues.
Some members of the council, even down to the final vote on Sept. 15, did not support the city’s budget as presented for this fiscal year.
The city’s proposed budget contained tax increases, the city judge’s position becoming full-time, no raises for city employees; some personnel cuts; increase in water and sewer rates; and fines from municipal court anticipated to increase by $200,000.
With a vote of 4-3 — Council members Johnny Magee, Willie L. Evans and Trey Chinn voted against the budget — the council was able to beat the Sept. 15th deadline, according to state statute, for having an approved budget for Fiscal Year 2010.
All three council members voting against the budget said more work needed to be done, voicing their disagreement to increasing the city judge’s salary by $20,000. In the budget the city judge’s position becomes full-time making her salary (with benefits) total more than $70,000.
This week, Magee and Chinn again raised their concerns about the judge’s salary and the collections being brought in.
Magee questioned whether it was realistic to have increased the judge’s salary and add $200,000 additional in fines to the budget.
“I said it earlier that I was opposed to the increase for the judge,” Magee said. “Court fines are actually less than when we gave her an increase in salary.
“I brought this up today because I am looking at the monthly report,” he added. “We are going to have to do some makeup. .... I hope things do turn around, but it doesn’t look like it.”
Chinn also questioned the administration as to whether the judge’s full-time status was on a six-month trial basis.
Laurel’s Chief Administrative Officer Dennis Keveryn said no trial basis was discussed.
“It was stated that this council could increase or decrease a budget at any time,” Councilman Manuel Jones said. “If it doesn’t work, we can come back and rescind that order.”
Councilman George Carmichael said “in these troubled times that we are in, there is no certainty that anything will work.”
Council President Tony Wheat, who also served as the council’s budget chairman, said decisions made in this budget were designed for long-term.
Wheat said the change was designed to provide “control over employees working without supervision.”
Keveryn said a lot of assumptions were made during budget time. However, it is too early to know what will happen.
“I don’t know if making the judge full time will work or not,” he said. “I know we have a tighter range on the courts now. ... She needs time to get control of the court system.”
This year’s budget eliminated 16 city positions — three full time and 13 part-time jobs — and reduced three positions to part-time.
The budget also requires the fire chief position to not be permanently filled and reduces the deputy council clerk, the housing development clerk and the planning/development clerk positions from full-time to a 24-hour week, which officials said was expected to result in an approximate $57,093.79 savings.
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