By REID TUCKER
The DeFuniak Springs City Council turned in straight votes in favor of approving a tentative budget of $23,960,750 and a tentative millage rate of 4.5 mills for fiscal year 2015.
That 3-0 vote (Councilmen Mac Carpenter and Mac Work were not present) came at a public hearing held Sept. 11 to present the finalized but still prospective budget. The hearing and the one to follow on Sept. 23 at 5:30 p.m., represent the final stages of the budget-making process begun a month ago.
FY2015 budget’s tentative revenues and expenditures balance out, with projected revenues coming in 2 percent less than FY2014’s projected $24,442,840 but 10.8 percent more than actual year-to-date revenues. The tentative budget’s projected expenditures, on the other hand, are 4.5 percent less than the $25,102,684 projected in the FY2014 budget, but that budgeted amount was substantially larger than the actual year-to-date expenditures of $14,760,049.
The difference comes from nearly every area of the city’s FY2014 budget, including water fund, sewer fund and streets expenditures that combined to be millions less than the budgeted amounts. However, other sections of the current budget ended up having actual expenditures greater than projected – a transfer of more than $1 million to sanitation among them.
One area not included in the FY2015 budget is the roughly $1 million needed to fund the long-discussed compressed natural gas fueling station project, as the City Council has not yet made its final determination as to whether or not to proceed with construction. The board is scheduled to take up the matter once more at its next regularly scheduled meeting on Sept. 22. Included in the tentative FY2015 budget is a line item for an estimated debt services payment of $86,130, with the full amount needed for the project to be included as a budget amendment if the City Council decides to go ahead with construction of the CNG station.
The summary for the tentative FY2015 budget projects expenses and revenues to balance out in the areas of sanitation, cemetery, natural gas (with a transfer of $427,480 to the general fund), sewer, water, utility service tax. General fund expenditures, before transfers from other departments, rings up at $7,919,200 due to a transfer of a combined $1,110,180 sanitation (for the 1-cent sales tax) and the cemetery fund, while the revenue subtotal is just $6,289,650 before a transfer in of $2,656,360 from various other funds. However, gen fund expenditures and revenues balance out at $9,376, 410 after a dip into reserves.
The proposed tentative millage rate of 4.5 mills is .42 percent less than the rollback rate of 4.5191 mills.
Also discussed at the special meeting was a request by Public Works Director Tillman Mears not to award the contract to replace lights on the city’s water tower to the front-running bidder on the project. Mears made the recommendation not to give the contract to the low bidder, as the firm’s plan was not to install new lights at the called-for 6-foot intervals and instead install them on the hand-rail as a money-saving measure, which he said could cause functionality issues in the future. The Council voted unanimously to heed Mears’ advice and not award the contract.
