Carbondale approves $54 million operating budget

Carbondale leaders on Friday approved a $54 million city budget for the fiscal year that begins next week.

At a special meeting April 20, the city council unanimously passed the FY 2019 budget, which covers city expenses and revenues from May 1 through April 30 of next year.

According to the document, the city's projected revenues exceed projected expenditures by only $901 for the coming fiscal year.

The $54,174,724 budget reflects a decrease in expenditures from last year, city manager Gary Williams said, although much of that decrease is attributable to just one recent purchase.

"Our expenditures are about $2 million down from FY18, but a million of that is because we aren't purchasing a fire truck this year for about a million dollars that we did last year, so our expenditures are down about a million dollars from FY18," Williams told the council.

The council also approved the five-year community investment program for FY 2019 through FY 2023 in the amount of $33,922,342; approved an ordinance for the Carbondale Public Library annual operating budget in the amount of $1,138,753; and approved an ordinance adopting the pay plan for non-bargaining unit employees with a pay increase for FY 2019.

The council's next meeting is scheduled for May 8.