Canton Council approves $328 million temporary operating budget for 2024
CANTON – It will take roughly $330 million to run Canton City government in 2024.
Canton City Council approved a $328 million temporary budget Monday to ensure that city police officers, firefighters, garbage collectors, street workers, elected officials and city workers can continue to be paid starting Jan. 1 and that purchases and projects can continue to move forward uninterrupted. Under state law, the city must pass a final annual budget by the end of March.
Here are three things to know about the temporary budget:
1. Budget figures likely will change before March.
While the temporary budget includes each department’s full request for employee wages and hospitalization costs, other costs, such as large improvement projects, and how much money the city will collect in revenue will be better known once the new year begins, Finance Director Mark Crouse said. A significant unknown is how many people and businesses will request an income tax refund. Crouse said corporate income tax collections are up 35% and employee withholding collections are up 8%. But he’s concerned that the significant increase in corporate collections means that businesses may be planning to ask for refunds, similar to last year when the city issued nearly $8 million in income tax refunds. The temporary budget sets aside roughly $2 million for income tax refunds.
2. Canton expects to spend more on safety, water services.
The 2024 temporary budget of $328 million is roughly 2% less than the $334 million that was budgeted for 2023. But spending is expected to be higher in some key departments. The city’s main operating budget that supports safety services, called the general fund, is expected to be $73 million, $3 million more and a 5% increase compared to 2023. The budget for the water department, which is separate is supported by fees, is slated to be roughly $5 million higher than last year, largely due to a renovation project.
3. This is Mayor Thomas Bernabei’s last budget.
Bernabei, who did not seek a third term and will end his eight-year career as mayor at the end of the month, entered office in 2016 facing a significant budget deficit. He leaves with an expected $12 million carryover. (Information has been corrected to fix an error. See the correction below. 10 a.m. Dec. 14.) The city also has reduced its long-term debt by $23.8 million, from an original balance of $26.9 million in 2016 to $3.1 million at the end of 2023. Bernabei said he and Crouse consulted incoming mayor William V. Sherer II about the budget before presenting their recommendations to council members.
Reach Canton Repository staff writer Kelli Weir at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com.
CORRECTION: The city of Canton is expected to end 2023 with a $12 million carryover. An incorrect amount was included when this story first published.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton City Council passed $328 million temporary budget for 2024
