BAY MINETTE— The Bay Minette City Council passed a an $8 million budget for the city of Bay Minette at their Sept. 28 meeting, which included a raise for the mayor, city administration and city employees.

Mayor-elect Jamie Tillery will recieve a $16, 000 raise plus a $500 allowance for cell phone and car useage.

“She [mayor-elect Jamie Tillery] will be taking on more responsibility. She will also be serving as the city administrator,” Dobbins explained.

The five city council members for the city’s districts will recieve a $50 a month raise.

“The city is expecting to earn approximately $8 million for the general budget and an additional $535,000 for the capital fund,” Joe Landenwich, the city’s financial officer and budget drafter, said.

Landenwich said approximately $6 million in city revenue for the general budget comes from sales tax, business license fees and other city taxes and fees, such as garbage pick-up.

Funding for the capital fund come through the ad valorem tax, which is expected to increase in 2008-2009 because of an agreement between the city and the utility board.

“The taxes have previously been split between the two entities, but the council worked a deal with the utility board deeding them the rights to the sewer lines, in exchange for keeping the taxes,” Landenwich said.

Landenwich said he did not know why it was split in the first place. He said the money is used for things like the expansion of the water system.

Major capital projects included in the budget are the purchase of a front-end loader and resurfacing the track at Faulkner State Community College for a cost of $50,000. Dobbins said in an earlier council meeting that the city had agreed to pay that amount toward the project, and the school would pay $26,000 in exchange for the use of the track by Baldwin County High School.

The total revenue expected for the 2008-2009 general budget is $7,860,983, though that does not include any revenue generated by the city pool, the recreation department or the airport.

Landenwich said  officials hope the recreation department will be self-sustaining, but did not feel ready to turn everything over to the department.

“I had to forecast out [recreation revenue] because it is a completely new system, and I did not know how that was going to affect the amounts,” Landenwich said.

Ladenwich said that things that were covered in the general budget including office supplies, eletricity, gas, water, television and uniforms were turned into a seperate recreation department account.

 No records for that account were available at press time.

The remaining budget of $200,000 remains in the primary city account.

No budget for the airport was included in the general budget, and no record of airport revenues or the airport budget was available at press time.

City magistrate Patsy Bryars said “Intergovernmental Expenses” including funds owed to the state should not be included in the budget.

“This is money we collect up front from tickets, court costs and other fees. We put them in a holding account and turn them over to the state,” Bryars said. “The city never sees the money. It’s like it’s nonexistent to the city. It’s not an expense and it’s not a bill, if we don’t collect it, we don’t pay it. Someone just made a boo-boo and put it in there.”

When asked , Dobbins said it was something that had to be included.

Other expenditures that dramatically increased in the budget include dog disposal, lease/maintenance agreements for the library, equipment repair and grounds maintenance for the grounds and parks department, building department funds for the recreation department and library and salaries and wages for the SAIL center/BMASCO.

In the animal control department, dog disposal increased from $55,000, which it has been for the last two years, to $73,200. Landenwich said the increase was unavoidable. “We were hoping to keep the cost down last year, but were unsuccessful. Unfortunately, this is an expense we can’t get relief from,” he said.

Landenwich said the new animal shelter being built may  ease some of the burden Animal Control is facing.

To view or get a copy of the entire budget, contact city clerk Rita Findley at 580-1619.