Overall, the City of Salem is looking at the best fiscal conditions in years.

And a three-hour budget work session on April 19 reflected the optimism about the proposed $77.6-million budget.

Councilmembers asked and answered questions of city staff, concentrating primarily on budget line item questions posed by Councilmember James Martin in an 18-page letter to Salem City Manager Boggess.

Although the meeting in City Hall’s second floor City Manager’s Conference Room was open to the public as work sessions generally are, no one from the public was present.

Although the proposed budget is discussed in April, the city’s financial staff started in October getting economic information together, explained Finance Director Rosie Jordan, who was accompanied by Tammy Todd, assistant finance director.

Boggess pointed out this is a conservative budget. “By being conservative, it gives us a little flexibility regarding year-end fund balances.”

Jordan added that tax bills have not been sent out yet, “Until I get that levy. It is easier to see how much revenue from meals tax, lodging tax, which come in monthly.”

No real estate tax rate is planned for the upcoming fiscal year; City Manager Boggess reassured council previously.

Martin had asked Boggess and staff to compare previous fiscal year actuals to the proposed 2019-19 budget.

Among items in the proposed budget which Martin asked about, and staff had prepared written answers were:

• A $200,000 decrease in miscellaneous revenue from the college NCAA football Stagg Bowl, which played its final year in Salem in 2017. There is also a corresponding decrease in expenditures;
• An expected increase in revenue of $50,000 in business license taxes, based on the current trend;
• A decrease under General Government, Finance Department, of $74,566 from eliminating an accounting assistant position and other salary savings;
• An increase of $181,218 in Technology, due to capital, transferred to department budgets after budget adoption;
• An $86,359 increase in Public Safety due to maintenance costs for a partial year for the new radio system for the Communication System;
• A $51,684 increase in expenditures for the Fire Department to fill a Fire Training Officer position that was vacant, to replace a frozen firefighter position;
• An additional roof replacement cost of $77,546, for the Circuit Court Clerk’s office;
• A section of Courthouse roof that needs replacing is expected to cost $85,000, an increase in the budget line of $77,500;
• The gate at the Streets Department is being relocated closer to the garage building so that vehicles can pull completely off Indiana Street, at the cost of $70,000.
• One of the projected expenses under the Enterprise Fund is $137,000 to cover the majority of a new event stage, expected to cost $165,000, under the Civic Center Fund.

Martin said he was pleased to see that the damaged antique iron fencing around East Hill Cemetery – which he has asked to be taken care ever since his first year on council – is included in replacements for the current year’s budget.

In his cover letter to Boggess, Councilman Martin explained his “overall preference is to focus on maintenance and refurbishment of existing city capital equipment and citizen service programs first, as opposed to investing in net new equipment purchases and/or service initiatives.”

Boggess asked Council to look over requests for funding submitted by community service agencies for the year, and tell him what Councilmembers want him to do. Last year $186,850 was funded, and this year, requests are up by $54,045. Boggess said, “I think we should look at this an as an opportunity to stay where we are or less, because of the economic conditions regarding corporate donations.”

The agencies asking for city support range from Big Brothers/Big Sisters asking for $5,000, to $10,354 asked by the LOA Area Agency on Aging that provides delivered meals for housebound residents; $20,000 for the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and $21,000 for Total Action for Progress-Head Start that provides early childhood education for qualifying pre-schoolers.

Salem Schools’ budget is separate from city departments, a proposed total of $45 million, with 45 percent of that local revenue.