DAPHNE, Ala.— The City Council in its business meeting Monday tabled a motion to vote on adopting the 2009 fiscal year operating budget.

The council decided to table the motion so it could have more time to review recently submitted figures that were excluded in the original proposed budget. A motion to adopt the budget will be added to the next business meeting agenda in two weeks, after the council has had time to review recent changes.

The overall proposed 2009 budget—including the general fund—totals $25.7 million.

Some items include:

<$8.5 million for Public Safety.

<$4 million for Public Works.

<$3.9 million for debt service.

<$3.4 million for general government.

<$2 million for recreation and Daphne Public Library.

<$1.2 million for garbage and recycling.

<$669,000 for Daphne Civic Center.

<$197,000 for Bay Front Park.

The city, since the proposed budget was drawn more than a month ago, has recorded profits and incurred expenses such as: $58,000 in profit from a change in the city’s health insurance premiums and a $19,000 expense to pay for replacing a totaled police car.

Also included in the submitted figures is a request for a full- or part-time curator for the Old Methodist Church Museum.

The city would be responsible for paying the salary of the new museum employee as well as the salaries of two more people who’d be hired to maintain city landscaping.

Mayor Fred Small reiterated the deficiency in the city’s recycling program and suggested the council consider options for dealing with the troubled service, including discontinuing the service or restructuring the recycling program’s finances to become more cost-efficient.

The council agreed that more time is needed to review certain items already on the budget and to examine the effects of how recent expenditures will affect the proposed surplus.

“I think it would be fair to the citizens if we sat down one more time and looked over this,” Small said.

Kevin Spriggs—owner of the Eastern Shore Motel—suggested changes to the budget during public participation.

Spriggs contended that the $678,000 figure budgeted for building permits in 2009 is unrealistic.

“I don’t see any possible way—with the economy the way it is right now—that we can generate that amount of profits,” Spriggs said.

Spriggs also suggested that the city’s recycling service could use some tweaking.

“The recycling program is costing us $300,000 to operate,” Spriggs said. “I can think of five other things to spend that money on.”

In other business:

The grant, sponsored by the Baldwin County Trailblazers, will pay for a 1.6-mile stretch of sidewalk to connect Daphne Middle School and Lawson Road.

The council chose Moore Engineering Company of Fairhope because of the company’s experience in building similar sized ramps, most notably in Fairhope.

The Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce had requested those dates via a letter to the city.

“Thanks a lot to the city of Daphne,” Corte said. “It’s been a pleasure working with the city.”