Hopkinsville City Council unanimously approved the second reading of the fiscal year 2020-2021 budget Tuesday night and they heard some good news during the May financial report.
The $37.9 million operational budget includes a 4% cut in operations in all departments and agencies, a property tax revenue increase of 4%, a 1.25% cost of living raise for city employees, a 7% decrease in payroll tax revenue, and waives salary increases for the mayor and city council for 2020-2021.
Prior to the meeting, Martin explained the difference in the budget approved by city council on second reading and the $38.5 million budget initially recommended by Mayor Wendell Lynch is the cost of living raise for city employees was lowered to 1.25% from 2.3%. He said the recommended budget also included a salary increase for the mayor and city council, which was not included in the final budget approved Tuesday night.
With one month left in this fiscal year, council members also heard some good news from Martin when he presented the financial report for May. Martin said while they showed a 5% decrease in payroll taxes last month, it was much better than he previously thought.
He said added when the unemployment reports came out at the first of the month, everybody was surprised even at the national level because they were predicting a much worse scenario than what actually occurred.
Martin added he hopes this trend continues into this month and will be better than what he had forecast.
In other business, council members unanimously approved the second reading of an ordinance repealing the animal licensing and registration ordinance, which is now discontinued.
And Mayor Lynch announced the next city council meeting on July 7 would be in-person and open to the public. The meeting will begin at 6:00 in the Council Chambers at the Municipal Center.
