City budget up for vote next week

The Clarendon City Council will vote on what will likely be the biggest budget in the city’s history next Thursday, September 13.

Construction of a $1.9 million water recreation project along with $3.9 million in USDA-funded infrastructure improvements have pushed the city’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2019 to $8.1 million.

The budget for the city’s usual expenses next year is $2.3 million, which is up about $200,000 from the current budget.

Funds for the water recreation project are coming from donations and grants, and the USDA project is funded with a $1.3 million federal grant with the city financing the balance of that project over 40 years with a $10 per month fee on water accounts that has already been in place for over a year.

City Administrator David Dockery said the proposed budget includes the final payments on tax notes and general obligation bonds that were approved in 2012 for street, water, sewer, and drainage improvements. The city does not have any street improvement plans in the upcoming budget, preferring to wait until the USDA project completes installing about five miles of water lines before embarking on new street work.

The budget is built on a slight tax increase with an ad valorem rate of $0.75865 per $100 valuation, up from the current rate of $0.733821. City leaders expect to see the property tax rate go down for fiscal year 2020 as the city retires some of its debt.

The new budget includes a five percent across the board raise for city employees, a three percent raise for the administrator, and an eight percent raise for the city secretary.

The budget also includes $25,000 for the second phase of a three-year plan to bring the 1918 City Hall into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Money also remains in the budget to continue the city’s efforts to clean up properties with dilapidated structures.

No fee increases are included in the proposed budget, although Dockery says the city may consider a sewer fee increase at some point in the next year.