The Jefferson City Council has begun its review of the proposed 2016 expenses, making it through nine departments in one meeting Thursday and making minimal changes so far.
At the Budget Committee meeting Thursday, council members reviewed the budgets for the mayor and council, city clerk, city administrator, city attorney, municipal court, human resources, finance, non-departmental and information technology. But the majority of discussions, and the only changes from Thursday night, came from the review of the non-departmental budget.
Mayor Carrie Tergin proposed $15,000 for improvements at the old Missouri State Penitentiary, which would be matched by the Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau. She also proposed an increase in funding for the Cultural Arts Commission, from $6,000 to $8,000.
Third Ward Councilman Bob Scrivner said he believed the MSP allocation could set a bad precedent as the CVB has its own funding source from the city's lodging tax. He said $15,000 may not seem like much now, but the amount could easily begin to grow over time.
"It's just kind of like a camel's nose under the tent," Scrivner said. "I think it's a bad precedent to set."
Fifth Ward Councilman Mark Schreiber, a former tour guide and former assistant warden at MSP, said though Scrivner had a point about taking care with city funds, the $15,000 allocation would pay for safety and security improvements at what has come to be a popular tourist attraction.
"I agree that we need to be careful on expenditures. However, certainly there's little doubt that MSP is one of the best things that's bringing funds into our city," Schreiber said, adding the CVB is projecting more than 25,000 tourists will visit this tour season.
A letter from CVB Executive Director Diane Gillespie said funds would be used to provide new or additional lighting in Housing Unit 1, 3 and 4, noting the project would require approval from the state.
Though Scrivner made a motion to remove the funding for MSP from the draft budget, it was amended to include a direction for staff to find the $15,000 in current capital improvement sales tax funds, something Finance Director Bill Betts said shouldn't be a problem.
The final amended motion passed 7-1, with 1st Ward Councilman Jim Branch casting the sole opposing vote. Third Ward Councilman Ken Hussey and 5th Ward Councilman Larry Henry were not present at Thursday's meeting.
After the discussion on the MSP funds, 4th Ward Councilman Glen Costales made a motion to eliminate the $2,000 increase to the Cultural Arts Commission, noting the city is dealing with a tight budget and needs to focus on funding department requests.
Second Ward Councilwoman Laura Ward said the commission is an extremely hard-working group with a long list of projects for the area, including one for in front of City Hall. Ward said the commission worked hard to receive a grant to help support other art programs and groups, and would appreciate the increased funds.
Costales' motion failed to pass by a 3-5 vote, with 2nd Ward Councilman Rick Mihalevich, 4th Ward Councilman Carlos Graham, 1st Ward Councilman Rick Prather, Schreiber and Ward voting against the motion.
The Budget Committee will meet again at 5:30 p.m. Thursday following a regular City Council meeting at 6 p.m. Monday. The full draft budget is available at jeffersoncitymo.gov/government/budget.php.