South Charleston has approved $572,000 in revisions to its current $23.6 million budget, which runs through June 30.
On the revenue side of the ledger, the city expects three accounts to generate more money than originally projected:
n The city's business and occupation tax, which was expected to generate $10.9 million, is now expected to bring in $11.3 million.
n The excise tax on utilities, which was expected to yield $700,000, is now expected to yield $815,000.
n Parks and Recreation, which was expected to generate $1.3 million, is now expected to bring in $1.4 million.
On the expense side, the Finance Office budget is being reduced by $105,000, from $603,946 to $498,946. Meanwhile, money has been added to four accounts:
n The golf course, which was expected to cost $1.1 million, was allocated $185,000 more.
n The central garage, which was budgeted $1 million, will get $180,000 more.
n The community center, which was expected to cost $1.4 million, will get $177,000 more.
n The police department, which was budgeted $2.6 million, will get $135,000 more.
During a Finance Committee meeting prior to Thursday's council meeting, Finance Director Hannah Pettit said more revenue is coming in from Parks and Recreation now that the summer season is beginning, but that also drives golf course costs higher.
The community center budget increase is mostly for salaries, Pettit said, and the central garage increase is mostly for equipment repairs.
During the Finance Committee meeting City Manager Rick Atkinson noted that there are 26 pay periods in a typical fiscal year but because this is a leap year, there are 27 pay periods.
"This isn't a very big revision," Pettit said. Mayor Frank Mullens agreed.
The revisions were approved Thursday evening by council during its regular meeting. Revisions are common this time of year because cities are required to operate with balanced budgets and last-minute line-items are sometimes changed to balance accounts.
Also at the council meeting, Mullens swore in Josh McCormick as a city police officer. McCormick, 26, is a resident of Alum Creek.
Police Chief Brad Rinehart said a lieutenant recently retired and the hiring of McCormick brings the force back to its full complement of 41 officers.
During the Finance Committee meeting, Mullens announced that the city's Police Pension Board met a week ago and unanimously agreed to move its funds to City National Bank.
Last month, Mullens was critical of the board for paying high fees and receiving low returns on its investments.
"I think they made a responsible decision," Mullens said Thursday. "Hopefully they'll see better returns and lower fees."
During the regular council meeting, council approved a resolution providing the South Charleston Development Authority, or SCDA - the city's economic development agency - with a $117,000 annual budget for the next 10 years.
Prior to the meeting, Atkinson said the development authority currently receives that amount annually from the city's general fund.
"This agreement formalizes that funding agreement and allows the SCDA to be able to show a bank that it has a source of income if it decides to seek a loan for a development project," Atkinson said.
In action during the regular meeting, council approved the purchase of a recycling truck for $84,991 from West Virginia Tractor. Council had previously approved purchasing the truck for $85,632 from Worldwide Equipment.
Public Works Director Gerald Burgy explained before the meeting that Worldwide's bid would have been the lowest if the 2 percent discount the city allows for purchases from local businesses was applied. However, the state Department of Environmental Protection, which provided the grant for the purchase, said the discount could not be applied in this circumstance, Burgy said. That made West Virginia Tractor's bid the lowest.
During the regular meeting, council approved rules and regulations for the police officers pension fund. Atkinson characterized the changes as "housekeeping in nature."
In other action, council gave final approval to an ordinance re-zoning vacant property on Jefferson Road. Developers have said they want to build a mini storage/warehouse/office/retail center on the land.
During department head reports, Burgy announced that city street paving will begin Tuesday.
Ward 6 Councilman Bob Lilly asked Sanitary Board Director Steve DeBarr if the board's employees are performing smoke tests on the sewer system. DeBarr said they are.
Lilly asked what it means when employees draw a white circle on the ground.
"White circles mark where smoke's coming out of the ground," DeBarr said. "Each white circle is a problem. We identify about 200 problems a day."
They'll all eventually have to be fixed, he said.
During announcements, Ward 2 Councilman Mark Wolford announced that the Spring Hill Spring Fest Festival will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 11 on the Church of the Nazarene lot on Chestnut Street. All events will be free.
Wolford also reminded everyone that the Summerfest Around the Mound Car show has not been moved and will be on Aug. 20.
All council members attended Thursday's meeting. Council's next meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. June 16 on the second floor of City Hall, D Street.