Lebanon approves budget

Chandler Inions, The Lebanon Democrat, Tenn.
·3 min read

Jun. 25—By passing the budget on Tuesday, the Lebanon City Council paved the way for new first-responder positions and several new construction projects.

The budget was approved unanimously by the city council and goes into effect on July 1.

"Working with council members and department heads to manage city funds and develop an annual budget is of utmost importance," Lebanon Mayor Rick Bell said. "I am pleased we could pass the 2022-2023 budget without increasing Lebanon city property taxes. We must also include necessary infrastructure improvements annually for our long-term benefit, and this budget accomplishes just that."

The budget's passage appropriates a cost-of-living increase of 7% for all city employees. It also funds the creation of 14 first-responder positions. The Lebanon Police Department will grow in size by eight positions. Meanwhile, the Lebanon Fire Department will have six new openings for firefighters. There are also new roles created with the stormwater, water/sewer and gas departments.

"While our estimates are conservative, we expect that revenues for the city of Lebanon will continue to be strong as growth continues across the Middle Tennessee region," Bell said. "We were able to include several new positions in the fire-department and police-department budget to enable them to continue to provide excellent service to our residents."

Additionally, the budget includes approximately $60.7 million in capital and equipment projects, with a majority of these funded out of the water/sewer fund, as well as construction of phase 1 of the sports complex on Highway 231.

By the numbers

The total fiscal year 2023 budget for the city of Lebanon is $137.1 million, and the general fund budget is $48.1 million. Additionally, the fiscal year 2023 revenues include sales tax, property tax, and water/sewer tax.

The fiscal year 2023 sales tax revenue for the general fund is budgeted at $19.2 million, a $3.6 million or 23% increase over the 2021-2022 budget. That total sales-tax revenue represents 40% of the general-fund revenue.

Property tax revenue for the general fund carried a budget of $11.75 million, which represents a near 8% increase compared to last year's budget. Those property taxes comprise nearly one quarter of the general-fund revenue.

The city is budgeting $59.45 million for the water/sewer fund, which is a $36.77-million increase compared to just last year.

Lebanon Finance Commissioner Stuart Lawson indicated that increase reflected $9.5 million in American Rescure Plan funds and approximately $25 million from construction projects, which he described as revenue received for the city to complete those projects.

For the water/sewer fund, revenues increased by $36.77 million compared to fiscal year 2022. Most of that is from $9.5 million to American rescue funds and approximately $25 million from construction projects. That would be revenue received to do these projects.

"We've also established a contingency list, and some proposed equipment purchases of capital equipment were not included in the 2023 fiscal year budget but are on the city's contingency list," Lawson said. "The contingency list allows for a prioritized method of funding items throughout the year as the city builds reserves."