According to city officials, the rate increase — which will amount to a $2.50 hike in customer's base rate for sanitation and a 15.5-cent increase per 1,000 gallons of water used — is necessary to balance out a $500,000 increase caused by the $215,000 rate hike being passed along by the Colorado River Municipal Water District and a $252,800 jump in the cost of chemicals.

City Manager Gary Fuqua said splitting the increase between the two rates helps make the hike as equitable as possible.

“I think the council looked at the options available and they basically split it 50/50 between the base rate and the consumption rate,” said Fuqua. “I think its fair to everyone. I feel like the council is very concerned about those citizens on fixed incomes and took that into consideration, and that's why they directed us to split that increase. I think they are really looking out for the people of the city and they understand economic times are hard, and I think we have a good, equitable budget.”

The council also decided on a tax rate that will have most property owners breathing a sigh of relief, as the council settled on $1.0227 per $100 valuation, the same rate used for the 2007-2008 budget.

According to City Finance Director Peggy Walker, the tax rate consists of 68.54 cents for the general fund, 8.07 cents to fund the Big Spring Police Department's Narcotics Task Force, 2.42 cents to refund obligation bonds from 2002, 22.53 cents for general obligation bonds for the Roy Anderson Sports Complex and streets project and .69 cents for certificates of obligation for the rehabilitation of the northside water facility and the new annex for the municipal animal shelter.

Fuqua said the new budget is one of the toughest he's ever worked on.

“There were just so many different components this year, and so many things going on with our bond projects,” said Fuqua. “We have rate increases to consider, just like everybody else, when it comes to fuel consumption and overtime rates. We're trying to give our employees a raise. There were just so many different components and variables this year that we haven't had in the past, it was just a lot of pieces to put together.”

And while the council's “wish list” — projects the members asked the city staff to consider for this year's budget  — got little attention during the work session, thanks to rising fuel costs and other elevated costs, Fuqua said those suggestions certainly haven't been forgotten.

“We certainly hope we'll see some relief from the fuel costs. I really think everyone is hoping for fuel costs to go down, but that's something we just don't know about,” said Fuqua. “Some of the things the council brought out in the initial work session are things that aren't going to cost a lot of money.

“One thing the council talked about was the problems with the plastic (grocery) bags in the city, and that can be addressed with some ordinances we're going to look at. The council also looked at some recycling issues, and we'll be studying those. We always apply for grants on those types of projects when we can. We'll continue to look at their wish list and seeing what we can accomplish, and as times hopefully get better for the city, we'll look at those finances and see what we can afford.”

Fuqua said the city staff's work on the budget is far from over, as the administration works to have the fiscal plan finalized in the coming months.

“We have the direction from the council and we've pretty much set the base budget,” said Fuqua. “Now Miss Walker, our finance director, will sit down and calculate all of the rates, as directed by the council. We'll also be waiting for our certified tax appraisal, which should be coming in the next few weeks. Once we have the certified tax base and finalized numbers we'll be able to bring the budget back to the council for approval. Of course we'll have to advertise and have a public hearing on the budget and do the necessary paper work, but it looks like we're heading in the right direction.”

Mayor Russ McEwen offered his thanks to the city staff for their hard work on the budget as the meeting came to a close.

“You guys really do an incredible job each year,” said McEwen. “Each time we do this, we recognize the job you do and we understand how difficult it is coming up with this budget, which is a monumental task. And we understand that this year was even more difficult. We appreciate the job you do, we really do. Peggy, we're fortunate to have you. You do a great job, and it's times like this I'm very proud to sit on a city council that has you guys, the people who do the work day to day. Congratulations to you.”

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it