The Newport City Council approved its 2010 budget during their final meeting of the year Monday night.
The city’s total expenses are expected to be $5,569,012, which is an increase of $600,823 more than the $4,968,189 predicted in the 2009 proposed budget. Nearly one-third of the additional spending, $190,928, is due to a 5 percent raise for all municipal employees and the expected addition of captain and patrolman to the Newport Police Department. The council approved the budget by a vote of 7-0.
Alderman John Pennington said he thinks the city is doing extremely well financially compared to our much larger neighbor to the northeast.
“When I read The Jonesboro Sun and watch the news, I see budget cuts, loss of personnel, and all the things that they are going through in a town that we always look up to,” Pennington said. “We see our budget and cash on hand starting somewhere around a million dollars, and I think it is pretty amazing that our little town is doing a pretty good job.”
Mayor David Stewart credits his department managers for the city’s budget functioning efficiently.
“Most of our department heads do a good job,” Stewart said. “We put together a good, working budget, and they stick with it most of the time. I think we have had another good year.”
The police department’s budget of $903,128 is the city’s largest individual budget and includes the purchase of two police patrol units for $52,000 and four tasers for $4,000.
The second biggest budget belongs to the fire department and is proposed to be $710,859. It includes the purchase of seven sets of bunker gear at a cost of $12,250, five pagers at a cost of $2,700 and three radios at a cost of $1,450.
Other projected expenditures for the city include:
- accounting software and equipment for the clerk and treasurer’s offices at a cost of $7,000.
- a new tractor truck for residential and sanitation departments at an estimated cost of $30,000, and a Pak-Rat side-loading refuse compactor for the residential sanitation department.
- a utility vehicle for mosquito control to be used for spraying in alleys at a cost of $16,000.
- a truck costing $18,700 and a sod cotter costing $3,300 for the parks and recreation department.
- levee certification estimated to cost the city $50,000.
In other business:
- Televisions, computers and other electronic equipment placed at the curb will no longer be picked up by city workers. These items must now be taken to the city’s recycling center located on Third Street for disposal.
- Stewart notified city officials Project New Start has been cleaning up around Newport Lake and suggested Council members should show their appreciation to the group for their efforts.
Newport, Ark. —
