The Hutchinson City Council agreed Tuesday night to go forward with a 2022 budget that leaves the local property tax mill levy the same as in 2021.
To achieve that, however, city staff absorbed more than $1.82 million in cuts to proposed departmental budgets, delayed more than $864,000 in equipment purchases, and the city’s projected cash carryover took a nearly $3 million hit.
The council, which met in two evening budget sessions, also agreed – in the end – to limit funding for 2022 employee wage increases to 2.5 percent, down from an original 3 percent.
Citywide, three new hires overall were approved. Although, department heads agreed to leave multiple other positions open that were cut last year in response to projected revenue losses from COVID-19 or that the city has been unable to fill.
The Hutchinson City Council learned Tuesday that the city manager has targeted April 1 as the date to reopen city hall, and that patrols of city parks are stepping up.
The council also appeared to support the city remaining a member of the Regional Economic Area Partnership for about $10,000 per year but it rejected an idea to use idle economic development funds to create a low-interest revolving loan program to support moving small businesses into vacant buildings around town.
The issues were among a range of topics touched on Tuesday not on the council’s agenda but were brought up after the board finished its few agenda items in less than 15 minutes.