Red Bank city commissioners will give their final votes on the city's budget for fiscal year 2018 at their meeting Tuesday, June 20 at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
This year's $6,091,395 total budget is a decrease from the FY 2017 total budget of $6,292,330. The difference is about $300,000, which was included in last year's budget to outfit the new City Hall, said Finance Director John Alexander.
The biggest expenditures in FY 2018 involve capital improvements, totaling $1,366,000. Projects include paving and adding sidewalks and other pedestrian improvements on Dayton Boulevard, as well as improvements to White Oak Park, the Community Center and the Kids Corner playground.
The budget commissioners passed on first reading at their June 6 meeting did not include a pay raise for employees, but it has been amended to include a 2 percent raise that commissioners will vote to approve on second reading. The cost is about $60,000, which would come from the city's fund balance of $4.5 million, said Alexander.
The last time employees received a raise was in 2015, when they were granted 3 percent raises. Alexander pointed out during the June 6 work session, when commissioners discussed adding a raise for employees, that the consumer price index has increased by 3.22 percent over the past 12 months.