Storm recovery likely will force budget changes
The severity of Hurricane Helene and the timing of the approval of the Fiscal 2024-25 budget likely will mean adjustments to the City of Waycross ledger in the coming months.
City Manager Ulysses “Duke” Rayford said the work needed to aid citizens in the recovery of the storm has greatly impacted the budget, especially for fuel and overtime. Those expenses came from the FY23-24 budget, which the city was operating on until its successor was passed Tuesday, October 15 by city commissioners.
The old budget was more than $4 million less than the one for FY 24-25.
“I was feeling pretty good before the storm,” Rayford said. “But we had to use so much fuel and had so much overtime to address the issues. We’ll be reimbursed, but it could take until this time next year or longer.”
The reimbursements will come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency since the county received a disaster area designation. That happened in August 2023 when Tropical Storm Idalia passed through, but Rayford said its funding was nearly a year arriving.
“And we spent a lot more, especially on fuel, on this (cleanup),” he said.
Rayford said he didn’t foresee any major problems adjusting the budget to move money through amendments to cover the expenses incurred. After all, the city has been operating for more than four months on fewer finances.
“We’re just now sitting down to look at the budget,” he said. “It’s a setback and we may have some shortfalls, but I don’t think they will be anything we can’t handle with adjustments. We’ll always go for covering our operation and functionality.”
The city had been operating on last year’s budget on a continuing resolution passed in late June after the first attempt at passage to meet the June 30 deadline failed to reach a vote in mid-June. A second attempt in August failed on a 2-1 vote of the three-person commission at the time.
The two “no” votes by Commissioners Diane Hopkins and Katrena Felder at that time, were flipped to “yes” two weeks ago. That made the vote unanimous with the affirmatives of Commissioners Sheinita Bennett and Alvin Nelson.
Both Hopkins and Felder cited the need for receiving clarity on questions about the budget as well as the one percent raise go to city workers among the reasons for approval.
“I still have some questions I know I can control by voting up or down on the amended budget,” Hopkins said Monday. “I’m very sorry for the public employees, so I had to consider their feelings about getting that other one percent raise. ... They really needed that raise.”
Felder echoed Hopkins’ thoughts in comments after the budget passed, saying a look at the City Charter and compensation structure would be warranted in the coming months.
Rayford said the budget’s $42.668 million total never changed from introduction in late May until approval.
“The workforce didn’t have to wait for five months for the raise,” Rayford said. “The recommendation in the budget was there on Day 1.”
City workers received a 2.5 percent cost of living increase last year. It was hoped two percent could be added in the FY 24-25 budget, but revenue projections didn’t allow it.
Rayford has recommended tying the city’s finances to a consumer price index while also increasing fees for city services and permits along with raising the hotel tax.
The administrator handled the budget process as prescribed by the City Charter. It was a change over some that had been used at points in the past.
“If you live by the charter on this, you live by it on everything,” he said. “It’s there to keep us in line. You can’t keep coming around to what the city did 15 years ago. It might’ve worked at that time, it might have been a good idea, but that doesn’t make it a good idea now.
“We’ll stick with the document we have,” Rayford said. The commissioners have the luxury to change the charter.”
Rayford, who retired from the Army prior to being hired by the city, also said he will work to foster a greater team concept among what he termed five “unique” commission districts.
“Something I can do better is to establish more team work in a city concept,” he said. “From my situation in the Army, I approach everything from that direction.”
