Louisville Alderman Address Budget/Solid Waste

The Louisville Board of Alderman met on Tuesday, Sept 13 to discuss and settle several key financial issues for the city in an effort to have the budget set by September 15.
Solid waste fees opened the agenda as City Engineer Kenny Morris informed the Board that costs have continued to increase as the current contract required an increase due to CPI (Consumer Price Index) and fuel adjustments. He indicated that over the past few years operating expenses have increased around 6% but that the city had never increased rates accordingly and that under the current fee structure, the city had operated in the red for the past fiscal year and the situation would be worse if fees were not raised. Morris recommended a $3 monthly increase for all users. This would raise the monthly rate for city residents from $12 to $15.
There was considerable discussion about the services provided and costs. Morris indicated that finding a less expensive provider was unlikely and that the city could not provide the same services at a similar cost. Mayor Hill indicated, “There is nothing in Walmart or any other retail store that’s the same price as it was a year ago….. This increase would be an increase to the actual user of the service rather than a tax increase.”
After all discussion, The Board approved an increase from $12 to $15 for solid waste services effective as of October 1, 2011. More information about solid waste services provided by the city can be found on the city’s web page.
The Board also approved a change to the personnel policy of the city by removing an obsolete Comp Time policy and replacing it with an Overtime policy adequate to meet the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. This was needed to meet requirements for grants available to the city.
The next item on the Board’s agenda was employee health insurance. This has been a topic of much discussion and investigation over the last several months. To remain with the current policy with Blue Cross would result in cost increases not only to the city of roughly $51,000 but would also increase employee premiums by 15-16% depending on the type of plan. The city reviewed other options and after all considerations approved a plan with United Health Care. The plan would still increase premiums for some employees but would result in a cost savings to the city of roughly $97,000 from other options. This savings could then be used to provide pay increases to employees to offset the increase in health insurance premiums.
The Board then addressed the issue of pay raises for employees. Alderman Mays stressed the need for a review of policies and salary caps for different departments in the future. She suggested that the Board take a look at job descriptions and caps possibly near the beginning of the year. Alderman McLeod then thanked Mayor Hill and City Clerk Fulton for their hard work on the insurance and budget issues. The Board approved a 2.5% pay raise for all city employees to be effective at the same time as the changes in insurance.
The Board then considered the overall fiscal budget and reviewed any changes to items since their previous discussions. Some changes included an increase contribution from Louisville Utilities and a slight increase of funds to the Winston County Library from $85,500 to $88,380. Mayor Hill indicated that with the current figures, the budget actually showed a slight surplus. After a full review, the Board unanimously approved a new budget. Final budget figures are still not specifically defined as certain items such as E-911 enhancement costs have yet to be determined.