Council adopts 2025 budget after heated debate over economic development contract, parks and IT spending

Baberton City Council adopted the city's 2025 operating and capital budget Monday after hours of committee reports and floor debate that centered on how the city should staff and pay for economic development work, parks improvements and IT upgrades.

The vote followed weeks of internal discussion and last-minute amendments that shifted money among departments. Councilwoman Lisa Thompson, chair of the finance committee, moved the final adoption after members approved a package of targeted changes including cuts to consulting and re-allocations into planning and personnel lines.

Why it matters: The budget debate brought long-running questions about how Barberton should run economic-development work into the open. Supporters said the city needs a long-term, staffed capacity; critics said the consulting contract did not deliver measurable results and that hiring or reallocating staff is a better use of limited tax dollars.

Council members spent more than an hour debating details before final action. Councilman Michael Heideck proposed shifting $50,000 from a planning capital line into planning personnel to reduce spending on outside consultants; the motion passed. Council members also moved $25,000 into a parks overlay for Waltz Park (leaving $25,000 of an originally proposed $75,000 item), cut a hot-spot/camera line in parks recreation programs and reallocated smaller sums across human resources and planning budgets.

Mayor (unnamed in transcript) defended the city's broader economic work and urged more engagement between council and administration. "If you want change, don't keep it to yourself. Don't let it be a secret. Let's talk," the mayor said, urging council members to meet with staff between meetings.

Council discussion and key positions - Councilman Michael Heideck said he favored moving money into an in-house planning position and away from outside consulting. "We need to stabilize that department," he said during floor debate. - Councilwoman Emily Beck and others warned council against cutting outside economic-development capacity immediately without a concrete internal plan. "Cutting them off at the knees is not the best way to do it," Beck said. - Councilman Christopher Harris supported trimming parks capital earmarks and reclaiming funds for more immediate priorities. Harris pushed to reduce the parks capital placeholder for new pocket parks and to keep $25,000 for a thin overlay of Waltz Park's basketball court. - Councilwoman Thompson laid out a set of line-item amendments that the finance office had circulated in advance; those adjustments were carried by roll call votes.

Parks, pocket parks and Lake Anna funding Council members discussed several parks items during the finance review. Parks staff described two proposed "pocket parks" under consideration: one on city-owned land at Hazelwood and Worcester Road North and another the city has discussed acquiring from a local church near Seventh and West Tusk. Estimates discussed on the record placed a full rebuild of a basketball court at about $70,000'$75,000 while an overlay and restriping would cost roughly $25,000.

Parks staff also said about $1 million in previously earmarked federal money remains available for Lake Anna improvements, with several years to spend it and with options ranging from a visitor center to smaller capital and maintenance projects.

IT and phone system spending Council heard a detailed briefing on the information-technology budget and an equipment/phone-system replacement anticipated by 2027. City IT staff described the present on-premise voice-over-IP phone system, the tradeoffs of a cloud-hosted phone option (which could fail if the Internet goes down), and a $60,000 placeholder in the budget for phones/equipment. The council left the larger phone-system amount in the budget but discussed possible future splits with enterprise funds (water/sewer) if the costs are shared across departments.

Votes at a glance - Ordinance 22-2025, 2025 operating and capital budget: Adopted as amended. Motion to adopt by Councilwoman Lisa Thompson; second by Councilman Michael Heideck. Roll call: Yes ' Heideck, Gerhardt, Thompson, Hager, Beck, Harris (6); No ' Griffin, Easterling (2). Outcome: approved. - Ordinance 36-2025, payment to Retzel for legal services ($21,000): Adopted. Mover: Councilwoman Thompson; second: Councilman Heideck. Outcome: approved. - Ordinance 37-2025, parks revolving fund appropriation ($15,000) for fencing and a new restroom at College Park: Adopted. Presenters: Councilman Easterling and Councilwoman Thompson. Outcome: approved. - Ordinance 38-2025, amending posting places used for public notice (adds three posting places): Adopted. Outcome: approved. - Ordinance 39-2025, amending the designated outdoor refreshment area hours to Monday'Sunday (was Thu'Sat): Adopted. One abstention recorded (Councilman Heideck). Outcome: approved.

What the budget will change in the short term Council reallocated modest sums among operating and capital lines rather than increasing the city's total planned spending. Notable adjustments recorded in committee and on the floor include: - $50,000 moved from a planning capital line into planning personnel (intended to reduce reliance on outside consulting). - $25,000 left in the budget for an overlay and restriping of the Waltz Park basketball court; a larger full-reconstruction price tag remained possible if carried into later planning. - $15,000 appropriation from the parks revolving fund to the parks capital budget for a restroom and fencing at College Park (Ordinance 37-2025, adopted). - $60,000 placeholder in IT for phone/equipment upgrades (noted as likely to recur in future budgets and, if appropriate, split across other funds).

Next steps and implementation Council members directed staff to provide more regular updates on economic-development activity and to share more of the briefing materials that were discussed in committee. The mayor and administration said they are available to meet individually with council members to brief them on ongoing negotiations, grants and business contacts.

Ending: The council recessed for a short break before the legislative meeting and adjourned the regular session at 8:53 p.m.