Oak Ridge Today

Council considers budget amendments, raises spending for Chamber of Commerce

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Oak Ridge City Council Budget Meeting

The Oak Ridge City Council considers a series of potential budget amendments during a special meeting Thursday.

They were scheduled to consider more than a dozen budget amendments Thursday, but Oak Ridge City Council members approved only one that could immediately affect spending. It was a recommendation to spend another $50,000 on the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce contract.

The proposal will be considered by the City Council during the second and final budget reading on May 28. The new fiscal year starts July 1.

During a special four-hour meeting Thursday, Council rejected other proposals to increase spending on capital maintenance by $250,000 and cut spending on travel. Members asked for further study on a recommendation to consider relocating Fire Station No. 2 in east Oak Ridge to Melton Lake Drive. [Read more…]

Guest column: Hope proposes funding increases for fire station, economic development, maintenance

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Chuck Hope

Chuck Hope

Editor’s note: The following proposals by Oak Ridge City Council member Chuck Hope were first considered at the Monday, May 13, City Council meeting but postponed to a special meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday, May 16, in the Municipal Building Courtroom.

I would like to make a motion for an amendment to the ordinance to provide revenue for municipal purposes for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2013, to increase the funding in the general fund in three critical areas.

The first area is in economic development. I would like to increase funding by $200,000 to strengthen our economic strategies that the city manager has proposed for the upcoming year. I would like to see an additional $75,000 be added to the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce contract to fully fund the three-part approach the city manager has developed, with the remaining $125,000 set aside to be used if any additional projects come forward this next calendar year.

The second part of this amendment would be to add $250,000 to the capital maintenance portion of our maintenance and operations (M&O) budget. We have several projects that will need to be updated and repaired this next year. If put off until further in the future, we will be doing these projects under a emergency situation, which always cost us more in repairs. It is essential that we maintain a proper M&O budget so we can get the most out of all of our city assets. [Read more…]