Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Council Approves Budget

A special meeting of the Gurdon City Council saw the approval of a budget for the year 2000.

However, the council members were hesitant about passing the measure Monday, Jan. 24.

The law requires municipalities to have a working budget no later than Jan. 31 of any year. The council was unable to get a budget together before the end of 1999, and at the regular meeting, held Jan. 10.

The council did, though, amend the 1999 budget during the Jan. 10 meeting.

One of the hangups the council had with the proposed Y2K budget was it did not include raises for the city's employees. But, as Gurdon Mayor Rick Smith pointed out, the budget committee can meet, work to trim other areas and find the money for a raise. Then the council can amend the budget accordingly.

Only then was the proposed budget approved.

Part of the problem in getting the budget prepared is, Smith said, the city doesn't know how much it will receive in sales tax revenue. He said the new Wal-Mart Supercenter could adversely affect local sales tax.

According to the budget worksheet, the city anticipates revenue in the amount of $359,081.22 in the general fund for 2000.

Administrative expenses were set at $75,230, with the budget for the Gurdon Police Department showing expenses of $255,300 for the year.

The expenditures for the Parks and Recreation Department were budgeted at $1,475, while the animal control budget was $24,930.

These anticipated expenses total $356,935.22, leaving a scant $2,146.22 unappropriated in the general fund.

The Street Department budget, not part of the general fund, was set at $166,353.63 for the year, with anticipated expenses of $163,800. This left $2,553.63 unappropriated.

A total of $201,572.21 is anticipated for the sales tax special fund, with expenditures expected to be $163,125. This means $38,447.21 is unappropriated.

The worksheet shows anticipated revenue for the solid waste fund to be $104,878.64, with expenses thought to be $89,327.85. This leaves $15,550.79 unappropriated.

The cemetery fund budget was set with expected revenues being $17,967.01 and expenses planned at $7,400.

Smith said this department will have to be watched carefully as the cemetery fund is basically made up of fees paid in by families with loved ones buried there. As these people get older and move away, or die, he said, the money coming in becomes less and less.

In 1999 there was a full-time officer with the GPD who is no longer there, Smith said, and an engine blew up in one of the patrol cars. The engine was an unexpected expense, and put the department over budget for maintenance and repairs.

For solid waste, he said, 70 new customers were picked up from the three annexations that occurred during 1999. However, Arkadelphia has gone up on the garbage rates it charges Gurdon, which basically nullified the expected revenue from the new clients.

Smith turned the topic to the county-wide sales tax, saying the money received goes straight to the county with cities getting nothing. Clark County, he said, is the only county with a sales tax so established.

This was originally done, he continued, when the county was in dire financial straits and needed the additional revenue.

However, the county's circumstances have since changed and now, Smith said, the municipalities within Clark County could use some of this money.

Last year, Arkadelphia's city council sued the county to try and get part of the tax funds, but was unsuccessful in its attempts.

The Clark County Quorum Court would have to agree on a formula to share the money from the sales tax.

The new Wal-Mart, Smith said, won't benefit Gurdon one bit. He urged residents to support local businesses to help with the sales tax situation in town.

"We have to go to work," he said, talking about finding money for raises. "I'll meet with the department heads and personnel committee. I feel our employees deserve a raise and we need to get them one.

"We may have to make cuts elsewhere."

To get this done, he said, it will most likely take more than one council meeting in February.