Tuesday's Internet Edition, September 30, 2008.
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| THIEVES FASTENED A chain around this automated teller machine at Daniel’s Chevron on I-45 to try and remove it from the store. The machine stayed put, but broke open and was emptied. |
The council received the drafts at the first budget workshop of the summer and will spend the next couple of months revising the figures.
The preliminary budget lists overall city expenses of $6.15 million, versus revenues of $7.13 million.
Expenses in the draft are trimmed 13 percent from this year, while revenue remains roughly the same.
The expense side could increase about $500,000 if the council decides to help finance a proposal from Freestone County Fair Commission to build a covered rodeo arena and civic center complex at W.L. Moody Reunion Grounds.
A proposal for the project was made by Mayor Roy Hill on behalf of the fair commission and will cost an estimated $2.1 million. Hill says the commission is working on corporate financing to pay the bulk of the cost.
“Y’all will think I’m crazy for saying this, but I want to bring it up to the council,” the mayor says.
Hill says the city’s portion of the rodeo arena/civic center can qualify as an expense from hotel-motel taxes.
The city currently has about $700,000 in unspent hotel-motel tax money and expects to generate an additional $250,000 in the next budget year. The mayor points out that the funds must be spent, or the city could risk having the surrender the collections.
Civic center and covered rodeo arenas have been proposed several times over the years, and on occasion even budgeted, but have never gotten past the talking stage.
Fairfield’s budget is divided into three parts, general fund, enterprise fund and Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
The enterprise fund includes water, wastewater and sanitation operations, and the TDCJ is the city’s contract to provide water and sewage service to the Boyd Unit state prison.
General fund revenues are estimated in the draft at $4.6 million and expenses are $4.1 million.