The next fiscal year’s budget for the city of Dayton includes increased revenues and capital projects like a new city hall building, plus a dog park and pickleball court complex.
At the May meeting of the Dayton City Council, Assistant City Administrator Jerrod Barks presented the city’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2024-2025.
Revenues for the upcoming fiscal year are expected to be $9.128 million. The city has a fund balance forward of $2.75 million, giving the city $11.878 million to spend. Expenses are anticipated to be $10.213 million. Barks said expenses have gone up primarily due to city employee salary and insurance costs as well as the cost of supplies and equipment.
Barks also noted city revenue for day-to-day operations is trending upward.
He presented a chart that showed the city’s revenues have outpaced operating expenses for the last three years, creating room for capital projects and growth.
“That gap is going to allow us to have extra funds to be able to have capital spending projects, provide new vehicles for the employees, things that are needed but may not be an operational expense,” Barks said.
Moving on from the operational part of the budget discussion, Barks provided a list of some of the general fund expenditures.
Police department — $65,000 for leasing three additional police vehicles, two patrol SUVs and an administrative SUV. This brings the number of leased vehicles to six. The vehicles will be leased for five years.
Public Works department — $22,200 to lease a new truck equipped with a dump bed and snowplow hookup. The lease will run for five years.
Code Enforcement department—$7,800 to lease a vehicle for the code enforcement director position. The vehicle will be a small four-door truck that can be used to patrol the city. The lease will be for five years.
City bonded projects — $1.3 million, a 30-year bond to build and rehab city buildings. The year 2025 will be the first year in the plan, and the city will work on site and architecture plans for a new city building and a new public works garage. The plan is also to rehab the current city hall building to house police department only.
Barks gave a rough estimate of what the different projects might cost:
- New city hall building: $4,500,000
- New Public Works building: $750,000
- Rehab old city building for Police department: $250,000
- Misc./contingency fund: $400,000
Barks said the city will receive about $500,000 in 2025 from the Manhattan Harbour Development as part of the original TIF District agreement. The remaining $500,000 (of a $1 million down payment) would come from city funds. The yearly payment would be $300,000 to pay the debt over 30 years. The city would likely receive additional funds from a developer that could offset the city’s payment.
Grant matching — $825,780 (local match) for grants totaling about $4.1 million. The city sets aside the matching funds as required by the grant. Two grants are still pending, but the city budgets to prepare for those as well.
Barks listed out the grants. They include the Riverfront Levee Wall Trail (pending), two grants for Riverfront Commons Phase II (one from non-profit Kentuckians For The Commonwealth and the other from the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments), Riverfront Commons Phase III, Dayton Pike Sidewalk Phase II, TAP/TANK grant, Urban Forestry Grant (pending). All are an 80/20 split except for the Urban Forestry Grant, which would be covered 100% by the grant.
Barks also shared some notable projects included in the general fund budget plan. These include money for more seasonal public works employees, funding for city board projects, a stage for Monument Park, community garden funding, clerk’s office equipment and software, the city sidewalk grant allotment, city parking pad grant allotment and a community betterment fund (for city economic development events such as Final Friday).
In 2021, the city received a $98,000 Recreational Trail Grant from the Kentucky Department of Local Government. The grant funds include trail creation and maintenance, bulletin boards, signage, benches and trash cans in Sargeant Park. The total cost is $110,000. The grant requires completion by the end of this year. (There is a local match of $22,000 by the city; federal funds cover the remaining $88,000).
The city plans about $100,000 for the creation of a dog park and pickleball court complex on the western side of the Dayton Community Center on Second Avenue.
Another $125,000 is allotted for park upgrades. Emphasis this year will be on new playground equipment in Gil Lynn Park (pending discussions with Dayton Independent Schools).
The city will continue its Dayton Business Assistance Fund (for rent abatement, help with façade improvement and first-floor conversions) and has set aside $50,000 for the program in the coming fiscal year.
Barks created a 35-page Dayton Proposed Budget document giving detailed background and breakdown of the budget available on the city’s website.
This was a first reading for the budget, which is scheduled for a vote at council’s next meeting on Tuesday, June 11.
