Washington council adopts budget on split vote | Eastern NC Now

    This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.

    The Washington City Council adopted the FY 2012 budget on a split 3-2 vote Monday night (6-13-11). Gil Davis, Ed Moultrie and William Pitt voted for the budget while Doug Mercer and Bobby Robertson voted no. Mayor Archie Jennings does not vote but announced that he is "proud of the budget."

    The budget appropriates $62,225,970, of which $14,284,101 is to the General Fund, $37,951,962 to the Electric Fund with $3,090,869 to the Water Fund and $3,750,671 to the Sewer Fund. Other amounts can be reviewed by clicking here. Scroll to page 323.

    You can review the proposed budget documents by clicking here.

    The budget holds the tax rate at $.50 per $100 in assessed value, but continues the transfers from the Electric Fund to the General Fund of nearly a million dollars. The budget also reduces electric rates for customers inside the city by 5% and reduces the recreation fee charge for participants in the ball leagues.

    You can watch the explanation by CFO Matt Rauschenbach, the discussion and vote in the video below. We will have additional information on the budget and the meeting later so check back for updates.