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Board of Aldermen holds special budget workshop, sets follow‑ups on infrastructure, tourism and parks
Summary
At a June 11 special meeting, the Board of Aldermen reviewed department budget requests for transportation, water/sewer, stormwater, tourism and parks; staff were asked to clarify carryovers, contract pay‑apps and to prepare a revised spreadsheet for a June 17 prioritization workshop.
The Board of Aldermen met in a special budget workshop Tuesday night to review department requests and set follow‑up steps ahead of the fiscal‑year budget vote. Mayor Kelly opened the session with roll call and said the meeting’s purpose was to work line‑by‑line through department requests and hold off on summary pages until changes were finalized.
Major items discussed included transportation and street maintenance requests, stormwater and water‑main projects, tourism bed‑tax allocations and parks capital needs. Public works staff identified equipment purchases — a $10,000 walk‑behind line painter and a $70,000 air‑curtain burner for brush disposal — as priorities; Commissioner Bergman said buying an air curtain would “pay for itself” compared with repeated contracted burns. Major Locke urged replacement of older patrol vehicles for safety and resale value, noting “we should be replacing 2 vehicles per year.” Tourism director Kelly O’Malley outlined proposed uses of the $135,000 bed‑tax: the tourism commission ($10,000), marketing and promotions ($47,500, including $25,100 earmarked for a specific event), $15,000 for events, $8,000 for museum exhibits and a proposed $24,000 allocation for Route 66 Centennial planning.
Staff and aldermen also flagged several carryovers and accounting questions that must be resolved before adoption: mapping contract carryovers in sewer, outstanding pay applications for lift‑station projects, and how funds from a separate partner (Brush Creek ARPA allocation) should be recorded. Mayor Kelly asked staff to circulate a revised budget worksheet reflecting tonight’s changes and to prepare for a prioritization workshop on June 17; the board set a follow‑up timeline that could include a special meeting in the fourth week of June to complete the second reading if numbers are clarified.
The board made no final appropriations at the workshop; it adjourned after agreeing on next steps and assigned staff to return with updated, line‑by‑line figures and evidence of carryovers and contract statuses.
