Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Council passes budget, grants employees raises

The Gurdon City Council met in special session Tuesday night to pass the 2006 budget by the Feb. 1 deadline.

Mayor Clayton Franklin started by having Council members review the amended 2005 city budget and passing ordinance 06-001, which showed City Council approval of those amendments.

Council members then passed Ordinance 06-002, which is the proposed 2006 budget, running from Jan. 1, 2006 to Dec. 31, 2006, along with an emergency clause to meet the deadline.

"What we expect to take in for the new year is $416,980.93 in general revenue," Mayor Franklin said. "When you add up all departments, the proposed spending is about $408,000. So we still have a small cushion."

The 2005 budget amount expected was $489,977.02, while the year-to-date collections received are listed as 463,805.05 in total general fund revenue.

The mayor said one reason for the figures changing was the completion of projects, such as the $35,000 walking trail.

Raises

Tambra Childres, treasurer and recorder, said the big change was that this years budget includes raises for all employees. The mayor told Council members they did not have to approve the raises to approve the budget, but they voted to approve them.

Childres said elected officials, including herself, Mayor Franklin and Marshal Don Childres, will get $100 a month raise.

Department heads, including Jim Caldwell, street department, and James Cox, water and sewer, will get $1 an hour raise.

The treasurer and recorder said employees in both of those departments will get 50 cents an hour raises.

Full-time police officers will also get the 50 cents an hour raise, while part-time patrolman will get 5 percent.

Councilman Danny Paull said, "If the other departments are getting raises, it would seem appropriate the police do too."

Council members agreed and all raises were approved. Mayor Franklin said the budget proposal includes funds where all of the raises can be met.