Centerville council adopts balanced budget, keeps tax rate and drops 5% cost transfer

Centerville Town Council approved the town's fiscal-year budget on April 3, 2025, voting to remove a 5% cost-allocation transfer and to cut $2,119 from contract services, while keeping the current property-tax stance and the public-utility tax unchanged.

The vote came after a final review of insurance adjustments, a corrected five-year capital sheet and a revised operating summary. Town Manager Carolyn Brinkley said the general fund shows a surplus of about $117,000 after the latest changes and that the enterprise fund has a small positive position. "The general fund is in the positive, a hundred and 17,000, all inclusive of all changes," Brinkley said during the session.

Council members debated several budget details including health-insurance increases, a final Cigna prescription rebate credited to the town's cost-share calculations, and the town's remaining cash and debt position. Finance figures presented at the session showed roughly $7.6 million in combined cash between the general and enterprise funds, with about $2.6 million in general-fund cash and $4.9 million in the enterprise fund; total outstanding debt was presented at about $9.6 million.

Council members weighed whether to lower the property-tax rate; several members said they were not comfortable reducing rates given capital needs such as a wastewater treatment plant. "I don't feel like we're in a position to lower the property taxes," Council member Daniel B. Worth said during discussion. He and other council members cited remaining capital shortfalls and uncertainty about funding for a planned wastewater treatment plant.

On the final motion to approve the budget with two technical changes'cutting $2,119 from a contract-services line and reducing the cost-transfer from 5% to 0%'a council member moved and a second was called; the motion passed on a voice vote (ayes). The council president confirmed staff will present the finalized documents at the upcoming budget hearing.

The council also discussed the town's public-utility tax and agreed to keep the current charge on the town's four utility companies at the established $13 per $100 of assessed value (as described during the session). Council members additionally directed staff to bring final copies of the budget, with the agreed changes, to the public budget hearing.

What happens next: staff will publish the final budget packet and the council plans to present the adjusted budget at the formal public hearing; the finance office will also proceed with the accounting entries for the removed allocation and the $2,119 contract-services reduction.

Votes and formal action: The council approved the budget motion as presented on April 3, 2025, with the changes described above.