The Proposed Budget for 2009 – 2010 was provided to the City Council today. The total for the proposed budget is $23,599,872. That is $479,219 less than the budget we approved for 2008 – 2009. Administration is projecting we will spend $22,563,926 during 2008 – 2009.

Administration provided some helpful graphs to show us the relationships between income and expense categories. For example, 30% of our projected revenue comes from sales tax with 14% coming from property tax. On the expense side Public Service accounts for 35%, Police 22% and Fire 18%.

Lincoln County CDC, Nebraskaland Days, Rail Fest and the North Platte Area Chamber & Development Corporation all asked for funding from the City. We did reduce the funding we provided to those organizations in the 2008 – 2009 budget.

There are many good projects under way in North Platte and the City is a key player in the growth of this community. Creating a responsible budget that meets the needs of our community is the task before us. While I haven’t had time to study the budget proposal, I look forward to the conversations that will begin on Tuesday, July 28 at 4:00 in Council Chambers.