LITTLE ROCK — The Hot Springs Board of Directors adopted a new budget for 2011 and approved a total of $145,000 to assist outside agencies Tuesday night.
At $87,827,610, the budget is $3,182,858 more than the 2010 budget and will require $394,232 in previous-year funds to balance.
Projected revenue from all sources for the new year is $89,132,240, with about $17.6 million of that coming from sales taxes.
City Manager Lance Hudnell said in an earlier release that the budget does not require any employee furlough days but also does not include any cost-of-living raises.
Employees may, however, receive a midyear bonus if revenue projections are on target and expenses are under budget.
After street paving was pared to $100,000 in the 2010 budget, the new one allocates $500,000 for city streets but includes only critical capital equipment expenditures.
Finance Director Dorethea Yates said earlier that some of the equipment purchases include a $530,000 firetruck, which will be funded through a three-year lease, $76,000 for other firefighting equipment, and $350,000 for 14 police cars.
No travel to Hot Springs’ sister city, Hanamaki, Japan, is included in the budget, and only $5,000 for board travel was approved.
Three police-officer positions suspended in 2010 were reinstated, and five other city positions added this year are included in the 2011 budget.
However, eight employee positions funded in 2010 will be eliminated and five others will not be funded, for a net loss of five positions.
The budget will fund 616 full-time positions and seven part-time employees at an expense of $35,020,751. More than $20 million is allocated for services, and $7,281,915 for supplies.
Hudnell said that while the budget is “very lean,” it does allow all departments to continue to provide quality services.
Speaking from the floor, Bob Driggers said he recommended the board table certain elements of the budget.
“I know you thought you were cutting it to the bone, but there’s still some fluff.”
Another audience member, George Pritchett, said that while “there isn’t a bad program in the budget,” he said there were still questions regarding infrastructure and voiced concerns that there was no public input in arriving at the final budget figures.
On a roll-call vote, District 1 Director Peggy Brunner-Maruthur voted against the budget, while the other six directors voted in favor.
In its last meeting of the year, the board also approved a $100,000 contract for service with the Garland County Economic Development Corp.; $12,500 for the Garland County Economic Development Corp. Retirement Relocation and $2,500 more for its economic and business development programs; and $30,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Hot Springs.
Arkansas, Pages 11 on 12/23/2010