By Robert Barron, Staff Writer
Enid News and Eagle
ENID —
There were no major objections raised to the proposed fiscal year 2011-12 city of Enid budget Thursday night after a three-hour city commission session.
Two more sessions are planned, for 12:30 p.m. today and June 1. The proposed budget shows $182,184,090 in anticipated revenue and $168,789,355 in projected expenses for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
Finance Director Jerald Gilbert outlined the budget for commissioners. He reminded them the city receives 3.5 percent of the 8.35 percent sales tax in Enid, 4.5 percent goes to the state of Oklahoma and .35 percent goes to Garfield County to help fund rural fire departments and other expenses.
Commissioners heard presentations on several funds that make up the total budget.
They included:
• General government, which takes fiscal responsibility for functions not directly attributable to other departments, such as city organizational memberships, commission expenditures and election expenditures.
Among the expenditures included in the budget are: PEGASYS, $185,000, with another $67,000 planned for the second year of a three-year funding for upgrade of digital and HD equipment; Booker T. Washington Community Center, $10,000; and Enid Joint Recreation Triad, $25,000.
Commissioners asked questions about the cost of city publications and advertising and spending on an American with Disabilities Act lawsuit.
• Capital improvements. Engineering Director Robert Hitt took commissioners through the capital improvement program. Appropriated for 2011-12 is $1,820,000. Those costs cover the third and fourth phases of Enid trail system improvements and Vance Air Force Base enhancements, including placing new hangars at Enid Woodring Regional Airport that could be used for up to six Vance planes during a storm.
Construction of sidewalks at Longfellow and Waller middle schools also are part of the budget.
Another $887,875 is planned for property repairs and maintenance and $1,444,375 for reconstruction and overlays on city streets.
Street projects include Willow from Cleveland to Oakwood right of way and utility relocation, Garriott and Monroe pedestrian signal and downtown street improvements, as well as other projects.
The city also has an ongoing plan on Randolph from Van Buren to Johnson to acquire property as it becomes available. The eventual plan is to make Randolph four-lane. City Manager Eric Benson said the property is purchased only as it becomes available. Ward 5 Commissioner Tammy Wilson objected to the plan, saying voters turned down a bond issue to pay for four-laning Randolph in 2008. However, Ward 1 Commissioner Ron Janzen said if the property is purchased as it becomes available he approves of the plan.
“We’ve been talking about making that a four-lane street as long as I can remember, and that’s a long time,” Janzen said.
In addition to those projects, more than $2 million is planned for bridge construction and renovation and $563,550 for parks.
Property improvement, expansion and acquisition account is budgeted at $845,000. That will include replacing the roof on the city service center on Poplar and upgrading the Randolph mid-block walkway.
Hitt said the street improvement fund will have $3,200,000 in 2011-12, with the money going to the arterial streets program.
Nearly $1.5 million is budgeted for the sanitary sewer capital improvement fund, which includes acquisition of property in the Boggy Creek Basin on South 10th. The area will serve as a future peak flow holding basin.
The stormwater fund is budgeted at $2,171,225 for the upcoming year. Those funds include projects expanding the Crosslin Park lake detention area, Willow and 16th drainage improvement, master plan improvements and the Meadowlake Golf Course drainage project.
Water capital improvement is budgeted at $2,519,000 for wellfield improvements, downtown water line replacement and replacing the city’s 80-year-old early line extensions.
The street and alley fund is budgeted at $1,550,000 for work on the local street program and the sidewalk repair partnership.
• Health budget. Gilbert took commissioners through the health budget of more than $3 million.
• Airport Director Dan Ohnesorge discussed airport needs and the budget totaling more than $2 million.
Among the airport objectives for the year are removing rubber building up and repainting striping on runway 17/35, utilizing the airport master plan, repairing drainage on south ramp, repairing the ramp area south of the 32 series hangars and continuing construction of a new larger hangar and two medium-size hangars.
