The Bartlesville City Council heard presentations on the proposed 2016-2017 Fiscal Year Operating and Capital Improvement Project budgets during a workshop meeting held May 23 at City Hall. The council is expected to consider approval of both budgets during a meeting in June.
Administrative Services Director/CFO Mike Bailey presented the proposed Operating budget, which includes projected revenue from the 0.4 percent sales tax increase approved by voters in October 2015. Voters approved the measure to help bolster the City’s General Fund, which has suffered over recent years due to declining sales tax returns.
Bailey told the council that several key positions will be filled as a result of revenue generated by the the increase, projected to be about $2 million per year. The positions include:
5 Police Officers
3 Fire Fighters
2 Codes Enforcement Officers
6 Street Maintenance workers
4 Rights of Way workers
6 Park Maintenance workers
The City is also seeking a qualified engineer after the department was reduced to one engineer — eliminating two engineer positions — due to budget cuts. A part-time library specialist could be hired as well, though that position is contingent on grant funding, Bailey said.
Efforts to fill some of the positions have already begun, while the hiring process for others will begin as the new fiscal year approaches. Bailey said the budget assumes all positions will be filled by July 1, when the 2016-17 FY begins.
The budget also includes utility revenues reflecting water rate increases and Capital Investment Fees for water and waste-water beginning July 1. The rate increases will be phased in over the next five years.
The new system would only minimally impact most residential customers, with the average household using only about 6,000 gallons of water per day. If adopted by the council as presented, the average household would see an increase of about $6.91 per month the first year, $3.94 the second year, $4.15 the third year, $4.40 the fourth year and $4.64 the fifth year for water and waste-water combined. Households with consumption exceeding the average would pay slightly more, as would properties with larger meters.
The proposed capital fees for water and waste-water total $1.04 per thousand gallon increase.
A budget summary will be published in the local newspaper on May 29. A public hearing on the budget will be held during the regularly scheduled council meeting on June 6.
Following the Operating budget presentation, Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen, who previously served as director of Engineering, presented the proposed Capital budget. The proposed plan includes $2.4 million in new projects, including equipment to accommodate existing and new personnel, some park and technology system improvements and funds for facilities, primarily the Public Safety Complex that is currently under construction near Adams Boulevard and Johnstone Avenue. The complex will house a new police facility and an expanded Central Fire Station, which is currently located on the northern portion of the site.
A large portion of the Capital budget — $985,000 — is proposed for street repair projects, including $800,000 for “Preventative Maintenance Street Projects.” A complete list of street projects to be identified for funding is pending recommendations from the City’s volunteer Street Committee.
Proposed Capital expenditures include 42 percent of of the available funding be allocated for street projects, while 28 percent is recommended for facility improvements, including the replacement of a boiler at the Bartlesville Community Center and needed repairs to the elevators at City Hall. Fifteen percent is proposed for parks, and 14 percent is proposed for equipment.