As students prepare for tedious finals and nights spent studying, Athens City Council will pore over estimates for next year’s budget.
The process requires three readings by council, the third of which will happen Dec. 16. So far, the city has hosted one reading and the budget is estimated at $34.5 million.
Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl said he usually appropriates more money in the first drafts to the general fund and departments and then gradually whittles it down.
“I’d like to knock the general fund back,” Wiehl said. “This is more making sure numbers add up, but it will change throughout the year.”
The budget for 2013 was $33.7 million, with further appropriations being made throughout the year.
Next year the city will be on a tighter “flat” budget, with less revenue coming in, said Athens City Auditor Kathy Hecht.
“There haven’t been a lot of changes or new businesses coming in that would increase our revenue,” she said.
Hecht added Athens was able to collect about $200,000 in tax revenue in 2013 because of a collection program through the Central Collection Agency, which gave the city a “boost.”
“(Income tax) will probably be lower than this year’s because of the extra money that we collected, which we won’t have this year,” Hecht said.
The city’s concern is that the lowered income tax will affect the general fund.
“The general fund is the one we really have to worry about. It’s based on tax revenue and it’s not as reliable as some of the other ones,” Hecht said. “You can increase fees for the community center, water and sewer charges, but it’s not as easy to increase revenue in the general fund.”
Wiehl said he also has worries about next year’s larger projects, such as repairs made to the parking garage Uptown, due to the decrease in revenue.
“We get worried that we won’t have enough things for emergencies,” Wiehl said. “I fully expect to have to spend a lot of money on the parking garage next year, but that generates its own revenue.”
The city is also expecting to factor in plans for electric aggregation—an electricity package that was approved in November’s election that will be offered to residents through the city—later in the fiscal year.
“We’re hoping that if we can move forward with looking for a package to purchase as a group that will afford us some saving, but I don’t think the mayor has factored savings due to electric aggregation,” Councilwoman Chris Knisley, D-at large, said. “That’s going to take a while to research.”
Athens is also preparing for possible budget losses if Ohio’s House Bill 5 passes, which would simplify Ohio’s municipal income-tax system. The city can’t plan for losses, however, until the bill is finalized.
“We tried to account for (the bill passing) in the auditor’s office, but postage and mailing will go up if it passes,” Hecht said. “Then we’d have to make adjustments.”
But Knisley said she is still hopeful the bill could be killed, knowing it could grievously affect the budget.
“This year we’ve been very cautious, though the final version hasn’t passed yet,” Knisley said. “It could result in a loss in some revenue. I know the Ohio Municipal League is still hopeful in making revisions to it.”
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