FRANKLIN
The City of Franklin passed its $23.2 million budget for the 2017-2018 fiscal year with a unanimous vote from council during a called meeting on Monday evening.

Despite a last-minute request from Franklin City Public Schools that an additional $100,000 be added to their level funding, of which the council agreed to give them up to $50,000, the passed budget still specifies no changes to any of the city’s tax rates, water and sewer rates or trash collection fees. City Manager R. Randy Martin said he was able to adjust the budget to account for the additional $50,000 transfer to the school division’s budget by taking $33,000 from the city’s contingency fund for the year and realizing the remaining $17,000 through cuts to various city departments and projects.

Cuts include reductions to the total budget allowed for the city manager’s retirement – VRS fund, the city attorney’s salaries and wages fund and the E-911 salaries and wages fund for part-time employees.

However, Martin said that the cuts would simply be applied to each line item’s total budget for the year and would not result in pay cuts or reduction of benefits to any city employees.

The council also voted unanimously to pass an ordinance re-authorizing the city’s current electrical rates to continue for fiscal year 2017-2018. The city’s complete adopted budget will eventually be available for download and viewing from the City of Franklin website, www.franklinva.com.

The next council meeting will be a regular scheduled meeting on Monday, June 12, at 7 p.m.