Budget discussions continued at Monday’s Newton City Council meeting, with two proposals brought before council.
City Director of Finance and Development Bryan Friedman presented the adjustments to the budget made since the last workshop on Jan. 30 including high-priority items for purchase selected from a pool of more than $2.5 million in projects identified by council and staff.
“The current draft of the 2017-2018 City of Newton operation budget contains very little capital expenditures in the general fund,” Friedman said. “There are some high-priority items that are recommended for purchase.”
Those items include a new police squad vehicle at $27,000, police computers at $18,000, public works mower at $15,000, a Fire and EMS CPR device at $15,000 and a Fire and EMS power cot at $15,000.
“Projected expenditures have also decreased since last week. By delaying some Public Works Department hiring dates and by leaving a project assistant position vacant, additional expenditure cuts were incorporated into the budget proposal,” Friedman said. “With those changes, the projected undesignated reserves went from 22.7 percent up to 24.2 percent which is really close to our target of 25 percent.”
The items would be paid for using general funds after the budget would take the projected undesignated reserves from an estimated 24.2 percent to 23 percent, still .3 percent higher than the original number the council agreed to.
Additionally, Friedman recommended adding a small bond amount to allow for important investments into the community. The bond, totaling $500,000, would include items such as city building improvements for $173,000, police vehicle lights and equipment for $53,000, outdoor warning sirens for $45,000 and fire turnout gear and self-contained breathing apparatus bottles for $22,000 to continue the city’s progress to stay up-to-date with regulations and not fall behind on past due equipment and projects.
“The costs of the bond would not impact the debt service levy in the first two years, as it would be designated to have the majority of costs back-loaded in future years, after other existing debt would have been paid down,” Friedman said.
With a consensus from the council, excluding councilman Jeremy Biondi who was not in attendance, Friedman was given the go ahead to add both suggested items to the budget. A Feb. 27 public hearing date was set for the budget with its adoption to follow the hearing.
Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com