By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
Decatur City Council, Mayor Dan Rickord and Clerk-Treasurer Kevin Hackman began taking a hard look ahead last week, spending an hour and 18 minutes talking about the 2025 budget.
They gathered for a regular council meeting which had to be postponed two nights due to scheduling conflicts for a couple of officials.
In fact, the mayor spent nearly four hours on the road to make the meeting, having been attending an annual mayor’s conference in Madison, on the Ohio River, a stone’s throw from Kentucky.
Hackman was leading the discussion for the first time, having replaced longtime clerk-treasurer Phyllis Whitright at the start of the year.
The city officials looked at all aspects of the proposed budget for 2025.
Hackman said under that proposal, the general fund would increase just $375,000, or 5.8%, over the 2024 budget of $6,439,520.
The total budget number is up a mere $5,000, or 0.3%, over the current budget of $13,514.859.
Hackman said the tiny increase is due to the city’s remaining ARPA funds of nearly $700,000 being placed in 2024’s budget.
Those American Rescue Plan Act monies, which came from the federal government after the pandemic, have to be allocated by 2024 and spent by 2025.
A large portion of Thursday’s budget talks was spent talking with Police Chief Kevin Gerber, mainly about how to in the future to fund body cameras for the officers and the need for more officers.
Gerber, Operations Manager Jeremy Gilbert, and Building/Zoning Chief Curt Witte spent time before council, discussing their budget numbers and future needs.
Fire Chief Jeff Sheets was unable to attend, but Hackman presented his budget figures.
Mayor Rickord spoke briefly earlier in the meeting about something which has city officials all across Indiana concerned: a desire in the Indiana Legislature to cut or eliminate property taxes.
Such a loss in revenue could prove to be a major blow to many municipalities, possibly forcing the elimination of some services as well as cuts in city jobs.
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