The Bartlesville City Council voted Monday to approve the 2024-25 Fiscal Year operating and capital budgets following a lengthy workshop meeting to discuss the items last month. The budgets will go into effect on July 1, when the new fiscal year begins.
“In order to ensure the most conservative budget possible, the FY 2024-25 operating budget is based on a projected 1.5 percent decline in sales tax, which is the City’s primary funding source,” said City Manager Mike Bailey. “This ensures that we are prepared for any uncertainty in the local economy. This projection provides a $450,000 decrease in sales tax across the organization.”
Highlights of the proposed budget include:
Total resources and revenue in the General Fund are expected to exceed $40.4 million, with expenditures totaling $39.1 million.
Sales tax is expected to generate approximately $22.9 million during the next fiscal year. The use tax is estimated to generate about $4.5 million over the next fiscal year.
Included in the proposed budget are utility rate increases totaling about 5.2 percent. The increases, which will start July 1, are based on a comprehensive water and wastewater rate study conducted in 2020-21. The increases are required to improve the City’s utility infrastructure, including an expansion of the waste water treatment system, which is expected to cost between $65 million and $82 million. The improvements are required by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality for the City to meet State and Federal regulations.
The proposed budget includes six new positions: An applications specialist in the IT Department, a project engineer in the Engineering Department and four dispatchers in the E-911 Department.
Pay increases totaling a 6 percent Cost of Living Adjustment and 2.5 merit increases for eligible employees. Insurance costs are expected to increase by nearly 12 percent, though workers compensation claims are trending lower and estimated to be at $138,000.
The council also approved operating budgets for Bartlesville Development Authority ($839,749) and Visit Bartlesville ($445,000). The BDA is the economic arm of the City and is funded through the Quarter-cent Economic Development sales tax. VB focuses on the City’s tourism efforts and is funded primarily through the hotel-motel tax. Both are governed by individual boards, though funding approval through City tax revenue is required by the City Council.
For more information, see FY 2024-25 draft budget.
Capital projects
The council also approved projects for funding during the upcoming fiscal year. Funding for the projects has been identified through the 2020 Half-cent Sales Tax Extension and the Enterprise Fund 5-Year Capital plans.
- Tuxedo Bridge rehab
- Sunset Bridge rehab with pedestrian bridge
- Adams Golf Course greens rebuild
- Park parking lot improvements
- Yale asphalt rebuild
- Wilshire, Waverly, Oakdale, and Highland concrete street rehabilitations
- Dewey, Quail Ridge, Cambridge, Braddock and Southport asphalt street rehabilitations
- Sooner Park Basketball courts and gaga ball pit
- Madison Boulevard reconstruction – Tuxedo to water tower
- Downtown landscaping improvements Phase 3
- Sooner Park restroom remodel
- Bicycle signage
- Police vehicles and body-worn cameras
- Fire tanker/engine
- Preventative maintenance street repairs