PETERSBURG-AK Municipal spending is on the agenda tonight during a special meeting of the Petersburg city council.
The Council will go through the draft budget for the next fiscal year. City-wide, the budget totals just under 46 million dollars, about 10 million more than last year. But the increase is the result of one-time project expenditures, many of which are paid for by grant money.
The actual operating expenses for city departments is about 18 million dollars, less than half the overall budget. At the request of the City Council, staff cut those operating expenses four percent from last year. At the same time, the property tax rate is projected to drop a little.
City manager Richard Underkofler credits the work of the staff and the City Finance Committee for taking a new approach to the draft budget this year. Matt Lichtenstein spoke with Underkofler and Finance Director Jody Tow.