News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The City of Monterey won’t be voting on a new budget until at least September.
That according to Finance Committee Chairman and Alderman Nathan Walker on Monday. He said the board still needs more time to discuss and make decisions on the proposed $4.7 million budget.
“There’s still more discussions to come on some items,” Walker said. “But I believe our major areas of contention for the proposed budget are the 3-cent property tax increase, the 3-percent cost of living increase for city employees, and the items that were added to the budget for this year.”
A new resolution for the Standing Stone Health Care Board has also stalled the budget process. Walker said the health care board wants to control 20-percent of the rent collected from the town’s healthcare facilities.
“We’re going to have a work session meeting with Warren Nevad from MTAS to iron out all the details of what a new resolution would look like with the Standing Stone Health Care Board,” Walker said. “Then, we would have another work session meeting with the health care board to hopefully come to terms and agree on that resolution.”
Walker said board members ultimately have to decide if the budget should move forward as is or if cuts will need to be made.
“We’ve asked the board to put together a list now that they have the numbers and revenues from our proposed budget and previous budget,” Walker said. “They can put together their list if they want to delete or add items. Whatever they decide to do.”
The Monterey Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted against the new spending plan on third and final reading earlier this year. The proposal includes some $230,000 to fund a capital outlay note payment and requests from five departments.
