Final budget approved
BY ALYSSA MEIER
Editor
In a 3-2 vote, the Washburn City Commission approved the final 2019 budget, with no additional changes from the preliminary budget.
City Commission President Larry Thomas opened the final budget hearing on Monday night, asking City Auditor Ranie Price and his fellow commissioners if there have been any comments on the preliminary budget, which was approved in August.
“I haven’t heard a word,” Price said. Commissioners also said they hadn’t received any feedback from residents on the budget.
Thomas said the only additional change he was considering was trimming the park board line item in the general fund from $10,000 to zero. The line item was originally $15,000, but the commission agreed to cut it to $10,000 during preliminary budget discussion. Thomas said the budget is still in the red and that he felt it was unfair to keep the money in the park board budget when other line items had been zeroed out.
“We cut the fire department, forestry, streets, office supplies,” Thomas said.
Thomas said when the park board presented the $15,000 budget, the money was meant for potential projects and building a reserve for incidentals.
