Photo from City Facebook stream
Hopkinsville Mayor Wendell Lynch on Friday morning proposed a $37.9 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year that requires departments to make four percent cuts to operations and anticipates a seven percent drop in payroll tax revenue.
Payroll tax revenue has been hit hard by layoffs and furloughs related to the COVID-19 pandemic and Chief Financial officer Robert Martin is projecting a 20 percent decrease in July from 2019, a 15 percent drop in August, 10 percent in September and five percent drop in the following months.
The budget anticipates using $677,000 in reserves to make up the difference and the mayor is asking departments to make four percent cuts to their operational budgets for the second consecutive year.
The mayor will also ask Hopkinsville City Council to approve a property tax rate increase that will bring in an additional four percent in revenue.
Mayor Lynch hopes layoffs and furloughs won’t become necessary due to the pandemic, but acknowledges they are considering those options.
The budget currently includes a 2.3 percent cost of living adjustment for city employees after they didn’t get a raise in the current fiscal year.
Departments requested $3 million out of the capital budget, but only $1.2 million of those requests were funded, including $180,000 for new financial software to replace an outdated system the city is currently using.
Hopkinsville Parks and Recreation is expected to see an 18 percent decrease in revenue and the fate of this year’s Summer Salute hasn’t been decided.
The budget now heads to the Hopkinsville City Council Committee of the Whole for consideration and possible changes before it receives first reading at a future council meeting.