Selma council mulls budget
Published 2:18 am Friday, October 2, 2009
SELMA — The city budget for the fiscal year that began for most municipalities on Thursday won’t get another nod until Oct. 13.
A majority of council members asked questions about the $17 million budget, made comments and moved on through the 34-page document.
This was the second document handed to city council members in less than a month.
City Council President Dr. Geraldine Allen called the budget “lean.”
“Everybody will not be pleased,” she said. “Ultimately the council will make the decision about that goes and stays.”
Directors of each of the city’s department stayed through the three-hour work session to answer questions about expenditures in their areas.
Beginning Saturday, The Selma Times-Journal will take each department in the proposed budget and explain it in detail.
The budget is dependant on passage of the $12 million bond issues that’ll go before voters on Oct. 27.
If the bond issue doesn’t pass, said Mayor George Evans, the city will have to return to the planning portion.
“Everybody knows everything we’re doing depends on the bond issue,” he said.
Evans said he is asking all registered voters in the city to vote the straight ticket “yes” for the bond issue.
Voters have the option of selecting departments they want financed through the bonds or totally accepting or rejecting the bond issue.