As we approach the final quarter of the City’s fiscal year, we continue to track the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the City’s finances all the while finishing projects and completing purchases that were deemed priorities for the current year as well as begin preparation for FY2021.
The FY2020 Operating Budget, the spending plan which ends December 31, 2020, outlines nearly $29.5 million in expenditures city-wide. Although the full effects of the COVID-19 pandemic remain undetermined; however, an updated operational spending plan for FY2020 was developed in the early months of the pandemic and outlines a forecasted change to the adopted spending plan of 5.6% in overall revenue decline for the year, equates to an approximate $1.5 million. To respond to this decline, 2.0% of expenditures have been cut city-wide and the use of cash reserves will be realized to cover the remaining revenue decline. Expenditure cuts included permanent changes to the personnel, delays in equipment purchases and capital projects, and various operation and maintenance savings due to the decrease in operations.
The final quarter of the year is the time staff also begins preparation of the FY2021 Operating Budget. The Board of Aldermen will hold at least three special meetings late October. These meetings are open to the public and is time set aside for the Mayor and Board of Aldermen to review with staff the priorities for the upcoming year. The Mayor and Board of Aldermen met back in August and outlined several initiatives and priorities which gave staff direction for future years. The FY2020 Operating Budget will be set up for adoption in December to begin the fiscal year January 1, 2021.
City staff is dedicated to being good stewards to our community and will continue to operate efficiently to deliver superior municipal services to our citizens and visitors. And we want to hear from our community. Please stay engaged through our social media pages as well as our website, never miss any information by signing up for all City alerts at
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