Board to vote on $23 million City budget

By Randy Bell    

Clinton’s Board of Aldermen is scheduled to vote September 15 on the City’s spending plan for the fiscal year, which begins next month.  The $23 million budget provides what Mayor Will Purdie calls “meaningful” pay raises to attract and retain City employees, while holding the line on taxes.

Also included is $1 million for another round of street paving next year, $300,000 to continue exploring drainage issues in Clinton, and money to cover most of the requests from City departments.

The budget was hammered out over several months, beginning with discussions between the mayor and City Clerk Jimmy Baldree, followed by a series of hearings during which department heads outlined their wants and needs.   

Baldree told the Board at its September 1 meeting that the budget process went more smoothly this year.

“We did not have any big surprises on shortfalls or anything like that,” he said. “We actually came in [to the end of FY26] a couple of hundred thousand under the projected budget, expenditure-wise, which helps tremendously when we roll into a new year.  We’re healthy, we’re strong.  I feel like things are growing.”

Last year’s budget was complicated by an unexpected $1 million shortfall created by a large amount of fire department overtime and misinformation regarding the amount of car tag revenue the City would receive.

Purdie’s budget priority for FY27 has been boosting the salaries of City employees to make them more competitive with the pay offered by neighboring communities.

“I’m excited that I think we’re going to be able to do that,” the mayor said at the Board meeting.  “I think it both fulfills some promises and obligations we’ve discussed for quite some time, as well as just puts the City on much better footing with regard to attracting and retaining quality employees.”

Purdie pointed out that Clinton’s pay has been “substantially behind the market,” particularly with the fire and public works departments.   He calls it one of the largest single pay adjustments in the city’s history.

That and all the other budget items are being funded without a tax increase. Baldree says the City’s millage rate will remain at 41.49 mills.  And during the September 1 meeting, Clinton Public School District officials confirmed that the district won’t be seeking a tax increase for the twelfth straight year.