The Decatur Board of Aldermen voted to approve the Fiscal Year 2018 budget at their Sept. 5 meeting.
The budget will include an increase for garbage pickup from $15 to $17.50 per month for all customers. The budget will also include an increase for the charge for each 1,000 gallons of water used over the 2,000-gallon minimum from $3.04 to $3.60. Town Clerk Brenda Harper said an outside study calculated the increase would bring in about $1,700 more a month in revenue but that the data was based on the August 2017 revenue numbers.
The budget will not include an increase for ad valorem taxes, which will remain at 38 mills.
The town is projected to bring in $1,318,022 in revenue from several sources including ad valorem taxes garbage revenue and sales tax. The budget will also include raises for town workers. Total disbursements including salaries for city workers, including the board, police officers and public works is projected to total $916,279.
In other business, Mayor David Marshall discussed the possibility of the Mississippi Department of Transportation putting in sidewalks on the portion of Hwy. 15 that goes through the town. Marshall said the project will be contingent on whether funding will be available from the state but that MDOT needed the board’s support and approval. Marshall said the town has to notify the business owners and resident along the proposed sidewalk’s route, which will run from the Dollar General Store to the Decatur-Little Rock Road.
The board approved the proposal for the project.
