Mayor: Central to Fix Budget

The Central City Council rejected Mayor David Barrow’s $8.6 million city budget in June over a dispute involving spending by the Central Police Department

As a result, the city has been operating since the beginning of the fiscal year, July 1, without an official budget. Under state law, when a budget has not been approved by the time the fiscal year begins, spending continues at 50 percent of the prior year’s budget until a budget is approved.

Now Mayor Barrow says a majority of the City Council is prepared to support the budget with some new language when the matter comes before the City Council at its August 13 meeting.

Overall, the budget anticipates revenue of $8.6 million and spending of $7.46 million with a surplus of $1.16 million.

Central has an unrestricted surplus of $21.5 million and another roughly $20 million in restricted funds which can only be used for designated purposes such as city roads.

City spending on the Central Police Department has increased significantly in recent years, according to Mayor Barrow, which led to some of the Council’s concern, he said. The department’s budget for the 2018-2019 fiscal year was $760,000. The amended version of the 2019-2020 budget will increase by $10,000 to $770,000, the mayor said. His original budget had the police department budget growing from $770,000 to $825,000.

The mayor said about half the department’s budget goes for salaries ($380,000), payroll taxes ($32,000), and insurance and workers comp ($63,000). About $85,000 is paid to the Sheriff for extra patrols. Another expense is fuel ($35,000). The rest is spent on supplies, materials, uniforms, and miscellaneous other items.

Mayor Barrow said the Central Police Department budget has been rapidly growing. This is due to the department’s taking on more and more responsibility from the State Police and the Sheriff’s office.

The budget increased by 66 percent in 2015, 19.7 percent in 2016, 41 percent in 2017, 18 percent in 2018, and 12 percent in 2019, he said.

Mayor Barrow said items cut from the Central Police Department budget that had originally been included at the request of Police Chief Roger Corcoran include computers, computer programs, and some new vehicles.

The mayor praised the work of Sen. Bodi White who secured a large amount of funding during the recent session of the legislature for infrastructure improvements in the City of Central. It will make it possible to move forward on a number of important projects, he said.

— Woody Jenkins, Editor