The Bartlesville City Council voted 5-0 to adopt the 2018-19 Fiscal Year Budget and Capital Improvement Projects during a meeting Monday night.
Acting City Manager Mike Bailey told the council that sales tax revenues for the upcoming year are expected to remain relatively flat, with an overall estimated increase of 0.6 percent. Bailey said the budget was prepared accordingly and with the following considerations:
- Phase III of the five-year utility rate plan adopted by the council in May 2016 will be implemented in 2018-19. This will be the third increase in the plan, which is estimated to cost the average utility customer about $4.15 per month.
- A monthly utility increase of 35 cents is proposed to help fund the rising cost of the City’s mosquito control program.
- A $15 Municipal Court technology fee is proposed to help generate funds to support the City’s Municipal Court system. This would generate $42,120 of the $47,475 needed to operate the program.
- Proposed personnel changes include the reduction of one full-time staff person in Building and Neighborhood Services, the addition of one full-time staff person in the Engineering Department and the reduction of part-time library hours. A 1 percent cost of living adjustment and a 2.5 percent merit increase are proposed for all City employees in 2018-19.
Director of Engineering Micah Siemers presented proposed CIP projects, which were also approved by the council. Major projects include:
- 7 new patrol vehicles for the Police Department
- Storm sewer drainage improvements in east downtown
- Improvements to Pathfinder Parkway
- Street repair and preventative maintenance projects
- Resurfacing and construction of a shade structure at Sooner Pool
- Pavilions at Sooner and Civitan parks
- Water line replacement on Frank Phillips Boulevard between Silver Lake Road and U.S. Highway 75
- Sewer line replacements on Brookline and Harvard
Capital projects are funded by General Obligation Bonds, the half-cent Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) tax, utility revenues and transfers from the General Fund and Sanitation.
No citizens spoke on the issue during a public hearing held prior to the council’s vote. The new budget goes into effect July 1.