Traverse Town Commissioners met today to approve the expenditures and additional revenues to this year’s budget.
Year-end budget adjustments take place every year to ensure the city’s money is balanced. However, due to higher than expected costs, this year has been a bit more difficult. City manager Marty Colburn said some bids were higher than they originally expected.
“There are inflationary factors. Depending on whether it’s the cost of materials, time, or staffing of these different agencies that keep trying to find people to do the job,” says Colburn.
Mayor Richard Lewis says inflation and global price increases haven’t made much of a difference in this year’s end-of-year budget adjustments. He says they just cross the t’s and dot the i’s.
“All we do is housekeeping adjustment. Just like you balance your checkbook,” says Mayor Lewis. “I had to deal with a lot of year-end budget adjustments and they’re all the same. Something you thought you knew would happen, something wouldn’t, and in some cases you didn’t have to spend as much.
The Downtown Development Authority fund secured $1,721,900. Other departments needed additional funds due to overtime and higher fuel costs.
Mayor Lewis says the extra spending this year doesn’t shock him. While Colburn says rising prices have definitely forced them to make adjustments.
“We have rising costs, inflationary costs that are coming into certain projects again, certain materials, but also the fuel and day-to-day materials that we have to use. Unfortunately, it affects local government because they are small businesses,” says Colburn.
This fiscal year budget ends Thursday.
