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By JOYANNA LOVE | Managing Editor

The Jemison City Council approved the next fiscal year budget during its Sept. 19 meeting.

The budget anticipates $5.14 million in revenue, including the water and sewer revenue, and it includes $5.06 million in expenses.

Revenue is expected to increase this year as $4.7 million was estimated for last year.

Councilman Rex Bittle called the $5 million budget a “big deal for Jemison,” later recounting past years when the city had been worried about having enough funds to pay debt service.

The police department is the department with the largest budget with close to $1.08 million in expenses.

Debt service payments will be $476,291 for the year.

Mayor Eddie Reed thanked City Clerk Vicki Potts and her staff for their hard work on getting the budget together. Potts said all of the department heads work together to draft the budget each year.

Updates to the police department pay scale were approved in a separate motion. The new pay scale increases the amount of base rate pay for full-time officers at steps 1 through 15 on the pay scale

The council also approved moving surplus funds for the city’s debt service bank account to the reserve bank account. This is funding that will not be needed to make future debt service payments. The city refinanced and restructured debt from 2011 earlier this year.

Amendments to the current fiscal year were approved to add $120,000 in revenue and $119,000 in expenses in the water and sewer funds.

A motion to amend a previous resolution updating the total funding received from the American Rescue Plan Act and how it would be used was tabled. The resolution stated the funds would be used for water and sewer projects, pay increases for employees and improving recreational opportunities in the city Bittle asked why the sewer project for South Ridge subdivision was not listed as a specific project because it had been discussed in a work session. The city is also pursuing other funding for the project, but Bittle said this other option has not been finalized. Potts said she had worked with City Administrator Shannon Welch on the wording and had followed his recommendation. However, she was uncertain why the wording was broader and did not include that specific project.

Since Welch was absent from the meeting, the resolution was tabled to be considered after more details could be provided.