Although not a unanimous vote, the 2017-2018 Budget for the City of Fairfield was officially approved earlier this month.
Starting with a “bare bones” budget, and reducing expenditures by nearly $500,000 over last year, Council approved the new budget on September 12, 2017 with a tally of 3-2. Council members Randy Johnson and Keith Daniels cast the dissenting votes.
The City budget is separated into three parts:
–Hotel/Motel: Used mainly for events promoting tourism, which the State of Texas has extended to include historical preservation and the arts.
Overall, the City is budgeting approximately $12,000 more than last year.
It is important to note that Hotel/Motel monies are funded by Hotel/Motel taxes, and may not be used for any other purpose.
–Enterprise Fund: Includes sanitation, water, and wastewater.
Total expenditures decreased slightly over last year.
–General Fund: Incorporates everything else, including administration, emergency services, parks & recreation and streets & drainage, among others.
This fund received a significant decrease over last year’s budget.
Also finalized was the Property Tax Rate, raised for the first time in ten years to 42 cents per $100 valuation. This passed with only one dissenting vote, cast by Randy Johnson.
Note: This article has been corrected, as the wrong tax rate number was typed in, previously.
