The Montgomery City Council unanimously approved a more than $242 million budget after several amendments, including a $750,000 allocation to buoy the city’s struggling recycling center. Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed proposed a fiscal year 2021 budget last month that was 6.7% lower than the current budget but avoided layoffs, furloughs, higher health insurance rates or holiday pay cuts to city workers. The city leaned on previous cuts and a higher-than-expected sales tax collections to avoid deeper cutbacks despite the pandemic.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the council allocated an additional $1.835 million for the next fiscal year, money that Finance Director Betty Beville said was expected through a rebound in sales tax revenue in the new year. That includes $900,000 to pay for sanitation service on Saturdays and debris cleanup work that would otherwise have been cut.

RePower South, which runs the city’s $35 million waste and recycling center, had asked the council to consider charging each sanitation customer a $2-per-month fee to cover its losses. Instead, the city approved a one-time payment of $750,000 that Council President Charles Jinright said was meant to help them through the next six months, with the hope that the business model turns around by then.

To read the full story, visit https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2020/09/15/montgomery-oks-750-000-recycling-center-approves-budget/5798285002/.
Author: Brad Harper, Montgomery Advertiser
Image: Montgomery Advertiser

Sponsor