Miamisburg budget projects revenues to outpace expenses

Miamisburg’s newly approved budget for 2022 shows the city looking toward preserving and enhancing everything from services and equipment to infrastructure and technology.

The budget includes a little more than $23.2 million in revenues and $23 million in expenses, which would add $215,000 to the city’s reserves that are projected to end 2021 at $13.5 million. While the city budgeted expenses for $23 million it is projected to end the year with $21 million, according to Emily Christian, Miamisburg’s assistant city manager.

Income tax is the city’s largest source of revenues at 65%, with the remaining revenue coming from charges for service (9%), including trash and refuse (4%), parks and recreation fees (4%) and permits for development (0.8%), plus property/hotel tax (9%), transfers (7%), court fines (4%), grants (2%) and joint economic development districts (2%) and other areas.

Expenses for 2022 include $7.23 million for the police department or about 31% of the budget, followed by $4.14 million for Parks & Recreation/Facilities (18%), then $2.6 million for the fire services (11%) and $2.5 million for Incentives/Transfer/Misc. (11%). Other expenses include $1.82 million for Development/Engineering/Traffic (8%), $1.76 million for administration (8%), $1.76 million for courts (8%) and $1.18 million for refuse/trash (5%).

The budget does not include any base wage adjustments, Christian said.

The city is estimating that the income tax revenue it collects will increase by 2% over the revenue it collected in 2021 and that other revenue collected will exceed 2021′s numbers by 1%, she said.

The budget allows the city to fill vacancies in the police department, bringing the force’s staffing to 41, which is full staffing, Christian said. It also allows Miamisburg to fill two full-time vacancies in its Parks & Recreation Department, including one full-time administrator and one staffer for Miamisburg Baseball & Softball League and other sports and combine three part-time positions into one full-time program manager position.

“If you look at expenses by type ... as you would expect, personnel is our largest expense by type at 66%,” Christian said. That’s followed by contract services, including contracts with the Miami Valley Fire District for fire and EMS, Rumpke for trash and recycling and one-off contracts for various projects at 29% ,and other expenses, including supplies and events, at 5%, she said.

She said that city officials “will always be looking at evaluating our performance against what we are recommending and having that inform what we recommend in the future.”

Miamisburg City Council approved the budget Tuesday during its regularly scheduled meeting. Council also approved the city’s $4.4 million capital budget, which is primarily funded through income tax collections. For 2022, the city will invest $581,250 into vehicles, $570,250 for equipment, $335,000 into technology. Planned expenditures include $179,900 for police cruisers and equipment, $130,500 for body cameras and $122,000 for automated external defibrillators, body armor, tasers and weapons.

It also includes $406,500 for parks and land improvements, $485,000 for facility maintenance and improvements, $93,000 for traffic and nearly $1.7 million for infrastructure.

“Over the past 10 years, we’ve averaged about $825,000 in paving and sidewalks,” Christian said. “Next year represents just north of $1 million, so that’s a pretty decent increase, which I think is a very good thing.”

Nearly 16% of net income tax collections are allocated to the city’s Capital Improvements Program annually, she said. With council approval, additional funds from the General Fund can provide additional resources to the Capital Fund, Christian said.

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