The 2022-2023 budget presented to the East Ridge City Council Thursday night by City Manager Chris Dorsey has no property tax increase. He said it was created considering the city’s most immediate needs and strives to keep services level compared to last year.
He said that East Ridge is mainly a bedroom community with the property taxes being the main source of income now and in the future.
The city’s revenue stream comes from three sources: property tax, local sales tax, and state shared tax, in that order.
Funding for 911 is increased slightly, he said, because the city is transitioning its emergency medical services into Hamilton County Emergency Medical Services that will require a $170,000 per year payment. The police department needs eight vehicles to replace some aging ones in the fleet. Others will be bought in future budgets.
Mr. Dorsey said that the increased Border Region allocations for the city are not reflected in the budget because it is mostly a pass-through to the businesses it helps. The Border Region funds have helped the city weather the recession, he said, and helped the new restaurant and entertainment businesses during the economic downturn. Some are now are now under construction and will soon be opening. The result is that East Ridge will see an increase in property and sales taxes.
Some specifics in the budget as proposed, include :
· $300,000 for the architectural and engineering phase for the new animal shelter
· $335,000 for eight new police vehicles
· $160,150 for the first of seven payments for a new fire engine
· $100,000 for property demolition and cleanup of certain properties in the city
· $75,000 for a tractor shed at Camp Jordan Park
· $67,500 for updated court software that is more efficient than what is currently used and is compatible with what is used by the police department.
· $55,500 for replacement tasers for the police department
· $32,900 for an increase in the 911 dispatch fund
· A 33 percent increase in the fuel budget because prices are so unstable at this time
· There will be a four percent cost of living increase for city employees
A budget workshop has been scheduled with the council members tentatively for Thursday, June 2, for discussions and to refine the budget before the first reading that will be held at the council meeting on Thursday, June 9. The final budget amendment for fiscal year 2021 will also take place at that meeting to clean up unanticipated expenses and revenue during this year’s budget.
The council voted unanimously, to declare 20 units of body armor from the police department as surplus property. This allowed the city to donate the body armor to the charity Awaken Generation Ministries where it will be used to assist in the evacuation of civilians out of Ukraine.
In regular business, City Manager Dorsey announced that the city’s new splash pad at Pioneer Frontier Park was opened on Friday. The city wanted people to enjoy the feature during the Memorial Day weekend before an official grand opening could be held. A grand opening celebration will be scheduled for a later date.
Streets Supervisor Chris Vaughn has identified and measured East Ridge’s worst roads. Mr. Dorsey said with the cost of asphalt at $150 per ton, he will now be able to figure how many linear feet of spot paving can be done with the money that is available.
The council voted to permit Tally Construction to use a vacant lot owned by the city where the future animal shelter will be built. The property will be used to store equipment being utilized in constructing the Multi-Modal project along Ringgold Road. City Attorney Mark Litchford said all the equipment kept there will be moved off well before East Ridge is ready to build the shelter. The agreement also specifies that Tally will be responsible for restoring the property to the condition it was in when they began using it.
The city hosted a picnic on Friday to honor the city’s employees for their hard work throughout the year. And East Ridge will hold a memorial service for veterans on May 30 at 1:15 by the flags at Pioneer Frontier. There will be a wreath laying, a 21-gun salute and a speech by Congressman Chuck Fleischmann.