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Henderson City Manager Terrell Blackmon and Mayor Eddie Ellington appeared on WIZS Town Talk Tuesday at 11 a.m.
Blackmon discussed the $18,992,950 proposed Fiscal Year 2020-2021 City of Henderson Budget as presented to the Henderson City Council at the May 18, 2020, meeting.
The recommended budget for the new fiscal year to begin July 1 is an increase of 7% over the current year’s budget.
A public hearing to receive citizens’ comments on the proposed budget will be held on Tuesday, May 26 at 6 p.m.
Presenting his first budget as Henderson City Manager, Blackmon, who took over the position from retired manager Frank Frazier earlier this year, said this year’s budget was “unique” as considerations were made around COVID-19.
According to Blackmon, city residents may be pleased to hear that the proposed budget does not recommend tax increases or water/sewer fee increases for the new fiscal year.
“The Council and I were very impressed and thankful that they were able to put together a budget with no tax or fee increases while still maintaining the same level of services,” Ellington responded.
The proposed budget also includes an appropriation of $1,500,000 to the City’s Fund Balance, an increase from the $1,066,720 that was approved for the current fiscal year. Blackmon said the City’s fund balance remains well above the minimum requirements as set by the Local Government Commission.
“For the last four or five years, in order to balance our budget, we’ve had to utilize some of our fund balance. Because there isn’t a recommended tax or fee increase this year, we are budgeting a little more fund balance,” explained Blackmon.
Despite initial concerns on the effect COVID-19 would have on sales tax, Blackmon said the City is doing well on that front. “Much to our surprise, we’re actually trending slightly ahead of last year. There was a lot of shopping going on during the months of March and April, so we didn’t see a decline in our sales tax.”
While Blackmon said the new fiscal year’s budget remains “relatively flat,” some increases are expected in electric utilities and employee health insurance costs.
Addressing the on-going mission to reduce the number of job vacancies and employee turnover, Blackmon reported that less than 10 percent of the City’s positions are currently vacant.
The proposed FY 2020-2021 budget is available for viewing in its entirety on the City of Henderson’s website, under the Finance Department tab (click here).
To hear the interview with Blackmon and Ellington in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.
