Town discusses budget planning

The members of the Sparta Town Council met Monday with Town Manager Bryan Edwards to discuss working numbers surrounding a preliminary budget for the 2009-10 fiscal year, set to start July 1.

During the discussion, council members agreed they did not want to raise taxes during the upcoming budget year, nor were they anticipating making any layoffs in the near future.

Preliminary Numbers

A document presented to the council members addressed preliminary general fund revenues and expenditures, and offered potential scenarios for the line items.

The first scenario proposed to maintain everything as it is. The second proposed making adjustments to or cutting benefits, and the third proposed a 2 percent cut across the board.

Edwards explained the figures resulting from the proposed scenarios were merely working numbers and asked the numbers not be released until the council officially approved the figures.

As a result, no final decisions were made during the April 27 meeting and the issue will be further discussed during the town's regular monthly meeting, set for May 5 at 7 p.m. in the downstairs meeting room of town hall.

Discussion

One topic of discussion between Edwards and the council regarded benefits.