The Hanceville City Council, in a marathon session, approved the City’s 2018 budget Thursday evening. / W.C. Mann
HANCEVILLE – In a session that lasted more than three hours, the Hanceville City Council walked item-by-item through a 24-page proposal Thursday evening, before approving the city’s fiscal year 2018 budget.
The council anticipated that Hanceville will generate $3,773,609 in revenue during the coming year, including more than $2 million in various taxes. The originally proposed budget projected $3,652,552 in expenditures, for a net positive income to the City of $121,057.
Council members made four modifications to the proposed budget that would change the total expenses:
- A proposed $1,000 donation to the Cullman County Emergency Management Agency was removed. That money was re-appropriated, being divided evenly between the Hanceville Tractor Show (raising its total from $500 to $1,000) and the Cullman Area Mental Health Authority (which did not receive any funds in the original budget).
- A proposed $28,000 line item for a new traffic light pole and arm was deleted, and that money placed back into the general budget fund.
- A proposed $100,000 budget for street paving was increased to $150,000, to allow more paving to be done.
- An extra $1,000 was added to the proposed $1,500 budget for street signage, bringing the total to $2,500.
While the overall budget remained the same, the changes lowered the net income to $98,057.
The most important line items in the budget for most people in attendance were those listing employee payrolls. All City employees except firefighters received a 5 percent raise. Firefighters received a separate payroll increase package to bring their pay more in line with current rates for Hanceville police officers.
With modifications accepted, the council approved the budget with only vote against. Councilman Charles Wilson complained that the council had only just received the budget, and had not had time to study it in detail. After Councilman Justin Pruitt countered that he had read the budget the day before, Mayor Kenneth Nail noted that copies had been emailed previously to council members.
The Hanceville City Council will meet next at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 28, in the Hanceville City Hall auditorium, with a work session at 6. The public is invited to attend.
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