For the City of Danville, Fiscal Year 2022-23 will not begin until next May 1st. But as usual, the City Council has already heard the first reading of the budget, and will probably vote on it in early December. Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr reminds us why.
AUDIO: It’s because we have to approve our levy before Christmas. Your levy influences your budget and vice-versa. You have to get a preliminary budget to the county clerk, where we submit our levy, and so that’s why we do both of these processes together.
The proposed budget is $60.9 million after department transfers are factored in. Meanwhile, the mayor plans to have a special meeting or listening session scheduled for next month to hear more input on the $24.7 million in COVID relief funds the city has available. The funding needs to be allocated by the end of 2024, and spent by the end of 2026. Mayor Williams passed out a two-page guide of what the funding can and cannot be spent on, which will soon be available on both the City of Danville webpage and Mayor Williams’ webpage. The mayor says, these guidelines are a lot to digest, and he certainly understands that the public may not have figured it all out quite yet.
AUDIO: It’s 157 pages of reading to do to really understand it. I’m hoping that this two-page summary will help folks understand that this money cannot just be spent willy-nilly however we wish to. There are specific things that it must go to. I hope that you all in the media will help us get the word out on what it can be spent on, and what in cannot be spent on.
Just couple of examples would be, the funding can be spent on addressing community mental health needs, as well as making up revenue compared to the most recent full fiscal year. But it cannot be spent on paying pension funds, or to establish a brand new rainy-day or reserve fund.
