MORGANTOWN — A starting point.
That’s how Morgantown City Manager Kim Haws described the city’s proposed fiscal year 2023 budget, which got its first public airing at Tuesday’s Morgantown City Council committee of the whole session.
Another way to describe it, according to the budget document itself, is “pre-pandemic conditions.”
“Revenues, I’m happy to say, a lot of our areas have recovered from COVID or are getting close to fully recovered,” Finance Director Kevin Tennant explained in his first budget presentation to council since taking the position.
Tennant walked council through some of the highlights of the plan, noting revenue in the coming fiscal year is budgeted at $36.3 million, up 6%, or roughly $2 million, from the city’s current amended budget.
Factor in a conservative estimate of $3.2 million in carryover and the city is looking at a total general fund spending plan of $39,486,629 for the fiscal year starting July 1.
Among some noteworthy items highlighted in Tennant’s budget overview was the amount of revenue the city expects to generate in the second full year of 1% sales tax collections — $8.8 million to be divided evenly between BOPARC, the general fund, the capitol escrow fund, and the retirement fund.
The current budget, passed by council last March, anticipated $6 million in sales tax revenue.
General business and occupation tax is expected to increase $2 million, to $13.5 million, from the city’s current amended budget.
Conversely, construction B&O taxes — which is generated by construction projects of more than $5 million and used by the city to fund its own one-time capital improvement expenditures — will be down about 50% to $1.2 million as major projects by WVU and WVU Medicine wind down.
“We’ve had some just banner years the last couple, but we’re going to hit the low in ‘23,” Tennant said.
The city’s weekly user fee is expected to generate $4 million, which Tennant said remains about 10% below pre-COVID totals as people continue to work remotely.
The city intends to provide a 3% cost of living increase to its employees. It also intends to provide $120,000 in pay increases, as recommended by a recently completed classification and compensation study.
Additionally, open positions left unfilled and new positions never realized due to the uncertainties of COVID will be funded. Those include: Human resources assistant, sign specialist, special projects coordinator, museum manager, arts & culture facilities technician, and two airport laborers.
Council will take up a first reading of the general fund budget when it meets on March 1, and is planning a budget work session tentatively scheduled for March 8.
Haws said he fully expects that as members of council continue to pore over the document there will be a number of questions, suggestions and changes made before it’s up for adoption on March 22.
“Council has a really unique opportunity here to evaluate what we’ve submitted. We call this the starting point,” he said. “If there are areas you want to tweak, I hope you do that. That’s really what the budget is all about.”
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