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Hopkinsville City Council passed the operational budget for next fiscal year on first reading at Tuesday’s meeting and formed the Pension-Future Funding Committee.
The approval came after discussion and comments from the public detailing their concern about the proposal to cut the Inner City REZ budget from $500,000 to $400,000. Along with that cut, the budget includes a four percent cut to all departments and five percent to all agencies. Mayor Carter Hendricks says the Inner City REZ has a spending history that would allow for that amount to be cut without impacting operations.
The $36.7 million operational budget was passed on first-reading with only Councilmember Darvin Adams voting no. It also comes with no cost of living raises for city employees, no special projects and an assumed four percent growth in property tax revenue—though the mayor says they won’t know how that will affect the property tax rate until sometime in August.
Council approved an executive order that establishes the Pension Future Funding Committee, which Mayor Hendricks says will go over revenue, spending, taxes and operations to come up with a solution to the increasing pension obligation.
The increased pension cost is approximately $500,000 from the state this coming year, and unless something changes at the state level, it’s expected to go up—it could be $3.3 million by 2024.