Proposed city budget for 2025 shows salary savings

Greencastle City officials unveiled a nearly $20 million proposed budget for 2025 with a heavy focus on roads and salaries, Mayor Lynda Dunbar said.

“The focus this year is roads,”the mayor said. “We’re doing more roads and sidewalks next year.”

Dunbar made her remarks during a public hearing on the 2025 City of Greencastle budget at the outset of the September City Council session.

There were no comments from the public on the proposed $19,651,491 budget, which includes an adopted tax levy of $4,506,298 based on an adopted tax rate of $1.9035 (per $100 assessed value). The city’s General Fund of $6,093,378 includes an adopted tax levy of $2,817,923 with an adopted tax rate of $1.20.

Salaries will be another focus of the budget, the mayor said, “especially with an emphasis on police and fire.”

Meanwhile, one of the effects of Jason Keeney being in charge of both the Cemetery and Park departments on an interim basis currently that will become permanent when the 2025 budget and salary ordinance take effect Jan. 1 is what amounts to a $91,000 salary savings for next year following the departures of Park Director Greg Ruark and Assistant Director Chrysta Snellenberger and the arrival of Keeney at the park.

Mayor Dunbar also noted that $2.6 million incoming in Public LOIT (Local Option Income Tax) funds “is more than anticipated and should be good for the General Fund.”

Additionally, $881,000 in EDIT funds forecast for 2025 “is good news for our budget,” she added, noting that the figure used for assessed value is only about 85 percent of what is expected, so some of the advertised tax rates are higher than what they will actually be.

The city budget is always advertised at a higher tax rate than will ultimately emerge once total assessed valuation is certified. The budgeted figures can always go down but cannot be raised.

At the end of the 70-minute meeting, the ordinance for appropriations and tax rates (Ordinance 2024-10) and the ordinance establishing wages, salaries and benefits for 2025 (Ordinance 2024-11) were both passed on first reading by the City Council and will be up for adoption at the Thursday, Oct. 10 Council session.

The salary ordinance includes differential and on-call pay for non-exempt employees such as police patrolmen. Detectives can earn a flat $20 for Friday nights and $25 for Saturdays and Sundays plus actual time worked. Water, Wastewater and Department of Public Works employees who are assigned on-call shifts shall be paid a flat $20 Monday-Friday and $25 Saturdays and Sundays plus actual time worked.

Meanwhile, the ability to pay an annual bonus of up to $1,000 for all full-time employees, appointed department heads, the mayor and clerk-treasurer will be determined by the City Council and if approved, paid when the mayor authorizes.

In other business, the City Council:

• Heard the mayor and others laud the cooperation shown by city departments, as illustrated by a recent need at the YMCA construction site. There was a need to move a pile of dirt to facilitate seeding for the lawn and “a lot of the landscaping budget had already been spent,” Dunbar said. “Out of the blue, I called the Street Department (Andrew Rogers) and Park Department (Jason Keeney) and asked, ‘Would you like to help us move some dirt?’ They said, ‘Sure!’” It amounted to a savings of “thousands of dollars on the project,” the mayor said to do it in house rather than contract it out. She also praised local developer Jared Grable for providing a piece of equipment for the project.

• Heard Councilman Darrel Thomas applaud the mayor’s recent efforts in talking with the commissioners about courthouse employees parking on the square. “Thanks, Lynda, for getting on the front page of the newspaper,” Thomas said, noting that about 30 or 40 years ago, the commissioners entrusted him (then 4-H Extension agent in the courthouse) to survey all courthouse employees on the parking situation. Responding to the employees apparently needing to park nearby, he said, “You’d be surprised how many people can’t walk to the courthouse.”

• Approved the return of Trick-or-Treat on the Square for 5:30-7:30 p.m. Oct. 31 at the request of Main Street Greencastle Executive Director Russell Harvey. There will be no one crossing Jackson Street to get to the west side of the square, he said, explaining those businesses will be invited to table on the square to avoid problems for pedestrians. Street closings approved were for Franklin Street (U.S. 231 to Vine Street), Indiana Street (Franklin to Poplar streets) and Walnut (U.S. 231 to Vine Street). The city’s neighborhood trick-or-treat hours remains 5-8 p.m. on Halloween.

• Authorized a street closure for the return of the open house at the Greencastle Fire Station, which is set for 4-7 p.m. Oct. 3 and will involve local public safety units, including EMS, City police, Sheriff’s Office, dispatch and CERT. The event hasn’t been held for several years after COVID and other issues intervened. Street closings approved were Indiana Street (Walnut to Poplar) and Poplar Street (Indiana to Vine).

• Heard Clerk-Treasurer Mikayla Johnson announce that Saturday, Oct. 5 from 8 a.m. to noon will be heavy trash day, with the annual Drug Take Back Day is set for Saturday, Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Greencastle High School.

Joining Mayor Dunbar, Clerk-Treasurer Johnson and Councilman Thomas for the September meeting were Councilors Stacie Langdon, Katherine Asbell, David Masten, Tina Nicholson and Vince Aguirre. Councilman Mark Hammer was absent.

The next regular session of the City Council is set for 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10 at City Hall.