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Mount Pleasant staff present tentative budget that taps reserves and flags rising benefits costs
Summary
City staff presented a conservative tentative budget that uses some retained earnings to balance the plan, notes a roughly $2,000-per-employee rise in health insurance costs and a potential doubling of mayor and council wages in the tentative numbers; councilmembers were asked to scrutinize capital requests and fee schedules.
City staff presented a tentative budget at the work session that balances a conservative revenue outlook by drawing on a portion of retained earnings and recommends council review of several capital items.
The staff member said the city is planning ‘‘a conservative budget’’ that assumes ‘‘minimum revenue increases’’ while noting uncertainty tied to an upcoming police department merger that could reduce or shift expenditures. The staff member added that ‘‘insurance across the city on the health plan is increasing by about 2,000 per employee.’’
The tentative plan also includes an increase the staff member called notable: ‘‘I doubled tentatively in this budget the mayor and council wages,’’ and the budget builds in a 3.1% baseline cost-of-living adjustment and roughly 2.5% in merit increases across departments. The staff member emphasized that the figures are tentative and will be scrutinized by the council before final adoption.
Among the capital items flagged for council review were a proposed streets tractor (about $16,000), roofing work and recreation-center bathroom remodels presented at roughly $75,000. The staff member said some projects were being proposed to be paid from retained earnings so the council could decide whether to proceed or delay them.
Councilmembers asked about rising bank and electronic payment processing fees tied to online bill pay and building permits; the staff member said those fees have increased and that the city is exploring vendor and configuration options to mitigate costs.
The work session left the budget in tentative form, with staff noting additional scrutiny and potential changes before any final vote at a regular council meeting.
