Hopkinsville City Council approved first reading of its operational and capital budgets for the upcoming fiscal year Tuesday evening and approved a municipal order that relates to extension of the Greenway from Pardue Lane to Tie Breaker Park.
Council members approved the $35.8 million operational budget with Wesley Grimes abstaining and the $2.4 million capital budget on a unanimous vote.
Thirty-eight percent of the operational budget is going to payroll and 12-percent to retirement contribution. Almost 60-percent of the budget would go to pay for police, ECC, the fire department and public works.
Regarding the rail-trail, council approved a $3.4 million bond issue ordinance that extends the trail with a pedestrian bridge at Country Club Lane and Lafayette Road. The bonds also pay for construction of the new Joe Mumford Park and the debt service will be paid with revenues from the city’s insurance premium tax.
Mayor Carter Hendricks says the project is also made possible by grant funding.
Councilman Philip Brooks serves on the Hopkinsville-Christian County WINS Committee and says the bridge at the busy intersection was always desired for safety.
The meeting was preceded by a welcoming reception for new Hopkinsville City Administrator Troy Body.