Mayor: Westlake budget down to ‘bare bones’
Published 9:35 am Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Fiscal responsibility was the main topic of discussion for Westlake City Council Monday evening. The budget for the 2015-2016 fiscal year has been reduced to “the bare bones,” according to Westlake Mayor Bob Hardey, in an effort to pay off debt services.
According to the city’s budget, most of the year’s revenue is going toward paying off debt services, leaving a balance remaining of approximately $551,045.
According to Councilman Dan Racca, $1.7 million will be paid each year to debt services until 2019. After 2019, payments will be reduced to approximately $1 million each year.
Councilman Racca moved that the City Council should pass the adoption of the budget. It was seconded by Councilman Kenny Brown, and the council approved the motion unanimously.
Hardey said that so long as there are “no major bumps in the road,” the budget could stand. “We’re going to hang in there until we get it right,” he said. “The budget is balanced.”
Today, Hardey will be meeting with each of the city’s department heads to go over the budget. He said that just because the departments have a certain balance remaining doesn’t mean that will be the amount spent.
“We’ve got it budgeted close to what we’ve spent this year. We’ve cut as much as we could,” he said, “but don’t think for a minute that we’re not going to be looking for ways to help our revenue in the city of Westlake.
“That’s what we’re here for, and we’re going to do whatever we can to raise revenue,” he said.
Hardey also mentioned that there is currently nothing on the table for a worker’s village in the city.
The previously considered location by Pinederosa Park has been eliminated, though Hardey said he has to look at “every possibility” to generate revenue for the city.
He said that if a possibility were to arise for raising revenue, an open hearing would take place.
“That’s what this is about. This is your community, not ours, and we’ll vote on it accordingly,” he said. “We have to generate revenue though. Bear with us, we have some tough decisions to make.”
(American Press Archives)
