Budget information to be discussed at Joplin council work session
Aug. 7—A presentation on the purpose of a city budget, the budget process and a summary of the 2023 budget proposal will be given Monday during a Joplin City Council work session.
The budget is proposed at slightly more than $149.8 million, up from $140 million this year. The city's operational expenses are proposed at $93.3 million with capital project planned costs at $41.7 million.
The meeting will include discussions of the partial year use tax revenues collected after voters in November approved the tax for online purchases. Proceeds are divided among each of the city's tax funds including the general fund, the public safety and Proposition B police and fire pension funds, and others.
It is projected that the use tax will collect about $3 million in fiscal 2023. Of that, $960,000 would go to the general fund that pays for city employee salaries and benefits as well as the city's capital expenses. Each of the half-cent sales tax funds would receive $480,000, which includes the public safety sales tax, the pension tax and the transportation tax, according to city documents.
The three-eighths cent capital improvements sales tax fund would receive $360,000 and the quarter-cent tax for parks and stormwater would gain about $240,000, according to the estimates.
City staff also will list some of the projects to be funded in the upcoming budget year. Among those are developing a strategic plan for community-based homeless program, commissioning a study for a police memorial and implementing beat reconfigurations for the police department that would increase beats from five to 12. Those changes are intended to more evenly spread out workloads among officers.
A public hearing on the proposed budget will be held at the next council meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 15. The city's tax levy will be set after a public hearing on Monday, Aug. 22.
The council will review the budget at sessions on Sept. 20-22 to allow time for any revisions before the final adoption of the spending plan Oct. 17.
In addition to the budget, there will be a discussion on the recommendations of an internal equity study that is intended ensure the proper placement of jobs within the city's pay grades. A report also will be given on a work group effort related to reaching sustainable pay scales and recruiting for city positions.
