Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Mountain Brook Council member Lloyd Shelton at the Sept. 26, 2022 meeting.
The Mountain Brook City Council approved the city’s budget for fiscal 2023 at the Sept. 26 meeting.
Finance committee chairman Lloyd Shelton said total revenues budgeted are around $50 million dollars including the general fund, capital projects and debt service.
“We've got a budget surplus of roughly $180,000, which is remarkable,” Shelton said, saying there was “a lot of red” on the proposed ledger before officials sat down with department heads. “A lot of folks did some work.”
The budget includes a 4.5 percent salary increase for employees. Shelton said the city is putting aside $300,000 for debt service, another $300,000 for retirement benefits and another $725,000-plus to the state retirement fund.
“We're being good stewards, as well as taking care of the current needs,” he said. “I think it's a good job.”
Shelton said the city’s greatest challenge in this budget is that the budget is very capital intensive.
“We have a lot of capital projects going on,” he said, citing parks, sidewalks and bridges. “We've got it in our capital projects fund. The money's there but we're drawing that down pretty hard this year. But it's stuff that's needed.”
In other business:
Parks and Recreation Superintendent Shanda Williams and councilman Billy Pritchard gave an update on the city’s recent ordinance banning dogs from fields in the city. Williams said reviews were mixed with many endorsing the move while others expressed their displeasure.
The pair talked about the possibility of at least temporarily fencing some areas, particularly near Crestline and Mountain Brook elementary schools for dogs. That plan is dependent on the approval of the school board.
The council approved a resolution authorizing the execution of an agreement between the city and Alabama Power Company regarding the city’s use of APCO facilities for license plate recognition services in the interest of public safety. Police Captain Jason Carmack said that system will aid in criminal investigation, complementing information that the security cameras of residents.
Assistant City Manager Steve Boone gave an update from the Cahaba Solid Waste Disposal Authority, saying that AmWaste will begin serving Mountain Brook on Saturday, Oct. 1. AmWaste will pick up the trash bins of the city’s previous service provider if those bins are marked for removal.
Boone said there will be a review of the fuel surcharge adjustment that was put in place in August, and that charge appears to be moving down as the cost of fuel has gone down recently.
Council members received an update on a request for a three-way stop at the intersection of Brookwood Road and Sherwood Road. Richard Caudle of Skipper Consultants said the council’s suggestion of cutting back foliage at the intersection had provided the desired visibility, thus the 3-way stop was deemed to be unneeded.
A conditional use application was granted for office use for homeRN at 127 Oak Street. And LaVonda Keel was appointed to the library board.
The next regular meeting of the city council is 7 p.m. on Oct. 10.
