When it comes to the city of LaFayette’s operations, leaders want to see it run more like a business than a typical municipality.
“Roughly two percent of the city’s budget comes from taxes,” Mayor Andy Arnold reported at a recent One-Walker meeting. “We are a revenue and utility based city.”
Of the city’s $28 million budget for 2014, only $469,000 is projected to come from property taxes. LaFayette’s gas, electricity and water utility sales to residents both inside and outside the city account for the bulk of the city’s revenue, he explained.
With that revenue stream in mind, officials are looking for a new city manager that can bring a business mentality to the municipality. Last spring, local businessman Max Morrison of Flex-A-Bed took over as interim city manager.
“We’re looking for somebody who has a lot of business experience an awful lot like Max has,” Arnold said. “We want to hire our next city manager out of the business sector instead of the city-municipality sector.”