By Bill Short
The Millington Board of Mayor and Aldermen passed an ordinance on final reading last week that adopts the city budget for the 2018 fiscal year. Board members took the action during their June 13 meeting on a motion offered by Alderman Thomas McGhee and seconded by Alderman Don Lowry. The motion was passed by six affirmative votes, with Alderman Bethany Huffman absent. City Finance Director John Trusty has said the budget continues the process that Millington began during the past few years to do “a better job of maintaining and upgrading” the city’s assets, eliminate blight and extend the paving program. While there is no change in the level of city services, Trusty has noted that one full-time position has been created for an additional inspector to oversee codes violations within the city. But he has said that individual may initially be employed part-time. Under the compensation plan that the board adopted a couple of years ago, Trusty said the budget contains pay increases for all of Millington’s “competent” employees. The Capital Plan includes the $667,000 required to cover the local match for the Resiliency Grant. Trusty has said the current budget contains $333,000 for that, and the same amount is supposed to be included for the next two years. But he has noted that Shelby County is “just getting started” because of “delays” in the federal government awarding and signing the contract. “We don’t anticipate them drawing any of the match requirement for this fiscal year,” he has said. “So, we’ve doubled up on the match for the next fiscal year, anticipating the funding and the project moving more rapidly.” The Capital Plan also includes the $103,000 required to cover the local match for the Discovery Nature Park project, with the grant from the state for development of that park land. The budget contains $1 million for repaving the streets, along with repairing curbs and sidewalks, and funds are included for construction of the new fire station No. 2. Trusty has said funding for the Raleigh-Millington/Big Creek Bridge replacement and Phase II of the Navy Road Streetscape is an “80/20 split,” with the state paying 80 percent. But he has noted that the streetscape project will involve “$5 million of new debt” being sold by the city. Also included is an $18,000 grant for the Millington Area Chamber of Commerce and a $20,000 grant for the Millington YMCA. But Trusty has noted that both entities must comply with the requirements of Tennessee Code Annotated Section 6-54-111 before they can receive those funds. The budget contains funding for the Millington school system at the same level established last year for the Maintenance of Effort. At its June 5 meeting, the Millington School Board unanimously approved its Capital Projects Budget for the 2018 fiscal year that includes a request for a $5 million bond issue. So, that has been added to the city budget.
But Trusty said that capital appropriation and the actual bond issue are contingent upon execution of the Interfund Reimbursement Agreement with the school board. He noted that the school board must identify the “specific purposes” for the appropriation before the city board adopts an initial resolution authorizing the “incurrence of indebtedness.”
