Council reviews HPD proposed budget

With volatile material prices and interest rates looming over next year’s budget, Hallettsville City Council reviewed proposed budgets for the police department and public library June 20.

Although the budget requires several months before approval, City Administrator Grace Ward explained after Monday’s budget workshop that the council and department heads aim to create a conservative budget in response to price hikes.

“That’s the first thing that we budgeted for, is the increase in (essential expenditures). Because those are items that we can’t run without. We can’t run without fuel; we can’t run without parts…,” said Ward. “We’re not going to be able to cut those items.”

Hallettsville Police Department (HPD)

HPD Chief of Police Randal Schlauch presented the council with a proposed budget for fiscal year 2023 of over $1.1 million, approximately $90 thousand more than approved for 2022.

Schlauch explained that many of the proposed line items relied on funding from grants – not the city. 

One of the new proposed items discussed as a possibility to be cut from the budget was purchasing a drug dog (K-9 Unit) and accompanying expenses for $15,713. A significant portion of the requested amount would be a one-time fee for the purchase of the dog, and the remaining funds would cover vet bills, dog food, housing, etc.

Schlauch estimated that the city’s police department had lacked a canine crew member since 2009.

“If you were to ask me if we have a drug problem, if we have one person on narcotics, it’s a problem because all they do is trigger other problems – as we know…” said Schlauch. “I think that anything we can do to make everybody understand that coming to the city limits of Hallettsville, if you’re carrying or driving through, there’s a strong possibility that we might get you for that.”

He hoped introducing a drug dog would prevent criminals from traveling through town and mentioned the possibility of using the K-9 unit at local schools.

“If I wouldn’t see all the Facebook posts of them finding drugs, I would say no. But all of the Facebook posts now that we see…” said Councilmember Trent Skelton of HPD social media posts regarding drug seizures.

Mayor Alice Jo Summers said there’s also an opportunity for revenue from the drug dog concerning seizure money.

Ultimately staff and Council placed the drug dog on a list of potential cuts due to budgetary constraints.

Friench Simpson Memorial Library

Library Director Brenda Lincke Fisseler presented a proposed budget for 2023 totaling about $270 thousand. The proposed budget was largely consistent with previous years, aside from $40,000 listed under fixed capital to address persistent issues with the library’s roof.

Fisseler explained that roof leaks had been addressed several times with minor maintenance, but the issue has persisted for years.

“We put bandaids – $2 thousand here, $2 thousand there. This is the last time I’m spending $2 thousand for somebody to tell me what’s wrong with my roof (where) they fix it, and next time it rains, it leaks. I don’t think I’m being a very good steward if I keep throwing bandaid money at it.”

None of the library’s proposed budget items were listed as items on the potential-cut list.

Budget Timeline

Ward detailed the projected timeline for the budget after the meeting, although it may be subject to change. 

The Public Works and Administration Departments will present proposed budgets to the council at the July 5 budget workshop. Staff and Council plan to cut and balance the budget at the July 18 meeting.

A final budget review is expected Aug 1; then, it will be posted online at cityofhallettsville.org. If all goes according to plan, Ward expects a public hearing Aug 22 and budget approval Sept 6.