Hoover council unanimously approves $128 million budget for 2018
The Hoover City Council tonight unanimously passed a $128 million budget for fiscal 2018. after the mayor spent the past three weeks cutting $4 million out of his original budget.
The council anticipates spending $110 million out of the city’s general fund, $12.7 million from a special revenue fund and $5.2 million out of the capital projects fund.
The 2018 general fund budget is 1.5 percent less than the roughly $112 million 2017 general fund budget approved in March.
City officials are expecting revenues for 2017 to come in about $1.6 million short of the original 2017 budget of $112.3 million, so for 2018, they’re estimating $111 million in revenue for the general fund.
Mayor Frank Brocato’s original 2018 budget proposed shifting $7.4 million of unallocated money in the capital projects fund to the general fund to support operations, but after making cuts, that amount now has dropped to $3.4 million.
Council members praised the mayor and his staff for getting the budget down to a more manageable level.
About $3 million of the recent cuts were accomplished by asking all city departments to cut at least 10 percent of their operating budget from what the mayor originally proposed, Chief Financial Officer Melinda Lopez said. The biggest cuts there came in supplies, computers, repairs and maintenance, as well as management services such as consultants and testing expenses, according to a budget summary provided by Lopez.
Other savings were realized by cutting about $700,000 in payroll costs, mostly by lowering the estimated insurance payouts, Lopez said. No additional personnel were cut, beyond two positions that were eliminated in the mayor’s original budget, she said.
The mayor, working with the city council, also cut the city’s contributions to outside groups by about $270,000 from what was originally proposed.
The mayor also added a few things into the budget, including increasing the amount allocated for a police department training facility from $500,000 to $750,000. Other additions included $190,000 to repair the pool and deck at the Birchtree Swim & Racquet Club, $65,000 for a new bomb suit and $50,000 more for a generator at the library.
The Hoover City Council tonight also added $78,000 to hire a lobbyist to represent the city in Montgomery and Washington, D.C.
Council President Gene Smith said he believes the city is losing out on appropriations from lawmakers at the state and federal level because they don’t have someone there lobbying on behalf of the city.
Brocato said he feels good about the 2018 budget because the city was able to maintain its $5 million contribution to Hoover City Schools, make capital improvements at a manageable level and increase the city’s reserve fund by $100,000.
Brocato said the previous mayor and city council added 33 employees in 2016, and while those decisions were made prudently, those personnel costs are being felt now. The city’s debt payments also increased due to the $80 million bond issue to support the new sports complex at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, and there are some increased operational costs associated with that facility as well, Brocato said.
The two jobs being eliminated in 2018 are a fire department battalion chief and administrative assistant in the police department, and both of those positions were vacant, city officials said.
The mayor and council did add three part-time reserve police officers to provide security at the Hoover Public Library, instead of paying overtime to other officers. They also added two more part-time school resource officers in elementary schools, providing for a dedicated police officer at every school but one, Brocato said.
City employees did not get a cost-of-living adjustment in the 2018 budget. That was put on hold until the city completes a detailed compensation and staffing study, Brocato said.
The 2018 budget allocates $9.2 million for capital projects, including $2 million for paving projects throughout the city, $1.5 million for improvements to South Shades Crest Road, $1.4 million for an upgrade of the city’s information technology system, $1 million for replacing the drainage system and turf at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium and $750,000 for a new police training facility.
Councilman John Lyda complimented the mayor and city staff for getting a budget proposed and approved before the beginning of the fiscal year, which is Oct. 1. That is the first time that has happened since at least the year he joined the council in 2012, he said.