City Council will meet twice this week, first on Wednesday and then again on Thursday in budget work sessions to review departmental budgets. Both meetings will begin at 5:30 p.m. and are open to the public.
The budget work sessions will be held in the fourth floor conference room at the Municipal Building. During these sessions, City Council will continue a department-by-department review of the proposed budget submitted last week by City Manager Ken Larking.
The proposed budget is for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
The departments under review on Wednesday will be the city manager’s office, human resources, finance, transportation, parks and recreation, police and fire.
The departments under review on Thursday will be information technology, community development, social services, public works and utilities. The school budget also will be reviewed that evening.
City Council began its department-by-department budget review last week with the economic development department.
Larking submitted to City Council a proposed budget that maintains basic city services and programs, addresses budget challenges, and invests additional money in crime reduction initiatives, public schools and projects designed to grow Danville.
To help pay for these costs, Larking is proposing a one percentage-point increase in the meals tax from 6 percent to 7 percent. A one percentage-point increase in the meals tax would increase a $25 restaurant bill by 25 cents.
Larking also is proposing fee increases for airport hangar rentals and building inspections. In addition, fee adjustments are proposed to accommodate the acceptance of credit cards for payment.
No changes are proposed in the real estate and personal property tax rates. In addition, no changes are proposed in base rates for utilities.
The proposed budget, at $290.5 million, is 1.3 percent more than the current budget).
Public hearings will be held in May and June. Final adoption must take place no later than June 30. The final budget will serve as a blueprint for city operations from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018.
