In a minutes-long special meeting with no discussion, the Charleston City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the city's budget for next year.
The $96.2 million budget, which the council's finance committee chairman has called "modest," is up more than $1.6 million from the current budget.
Most of those increase expenditures will go toward resolving health care claims, most of which were filed by retired employees, according to City Manager David Molgaard.
According to previous reports, of all the expenditures under personnel services, which include health care, retirement, wages and salaries, the total increase going into the 2017-18 fiscal year is about $1.2 million. The spike in health care costs will be offset by about $582,000 in wage and salary savings.
Molgaard said last week that the city previously budgeted employee positions at the top of the pay scale, but that it's no longer doing that. Instead, about $400,000 will be set aside in a compensation initiative fund for considering future salary adjustments according to the city's performance management system.
There isn't much projected change in the city's business and occupation tax revenues, but the city is expecting property tax revenue to increase by nearly $692,000.
The council will meet again at 7 p.m. on April 3.