By REID TUCKER
The Paxton Town Council met briefly early Tuesday afternoon, approving the Fiscal Year 2015 budget and to approve the over-expenditures of the current budgets.
The tentative general fund, water and sewer fund budgets were approved by unanimous vote with only minor changes since the budget workshop held before the Council’s last regularly scheduled meeting on Sept. 16. The general fund budget balances at $422,154, an increase over FY2014’s $408,354, though the available contingency fund comes in at $29,852. There were no changes to the finalized sewer fund and water fund budgets.
There were a few main items of note when it came time for the Council to approve over-expenditures in the current budgets.
The general fund budget’s city street maintenance line item had an actual year-to-date expenditure of $155,117.50 compared to the $138,000 budgeted for FY2014, whereas electricity cost the city $1,321 more than the budgeted $9,000 due to a rate increase from the utility provider. Operating supplies were also $1,160 over the $9,000 budget because of the need for new parts for the city’s work crews. However, the biggest over-expenditure was the $26,600.52 above the $10,000 budgeted for miscellaneous expenses, the majority of which came down to $10,000 for costs associated with putting up the Health Department clinic earlier this year.
Even with a cumulative over-expenditure of $56,361, the city still brought in enough profits to be $57,794.90 in the black for FY2014.
Over-expenditures in the FY2014 water fund budget included a $5,052 overage in the area of electricity, again due to increased rates, a $1,869 overage for sludge removal and tools for work crews. Total over-expenditures in the water fund are $26,051.02.
The sewer fund budget’s biggest over-expenditures were a little bitter still and more numerous. There was a $3,386.44 overage for electricity, a $8,043.71 overage for water due to a system malfunction and an over-expenditure of a combined $12,994 because of the associated repairs to pumps and motors and the purchase of parts to make those repairs.
The profit-and-loss reports for the water and sewer departments both show losses in FY2014, with the water fund coming up short by $13,748.44 and the sewer fund by $20,069.22.
Another special meeting followed immediately after the conclusion of the first, with the Council voting 5-0 to approve a contract with Robert Jones of Jones-Phillips & Associates, Inc., to handle the administration of the city’s hazard mitigation grant. The federal grant of $153,749, secured through the Florida Division of Emergency Management, will cover three-fourths of the $204,998 project to retrofit Paxton Town Hall to withstand hurricane-force winds. The city will be responsible for paying for the remaining $51,249 needed to complete the project, which will include installation of a reinforced roof, doors and windows capable of resisting 140 mph winds.
The city will have two years from the starting date of Aug. 31 to complete the upgrades, though the construction itself is expected to be a relatively quick affair.
