HANCEVILLE — Hanceville city leaders are approaching the coming fiscal year with a conservative caution, unsure of whether a potentially volatile COVID-19 economy will affect the city’s anticipated revenues in the year ahead.

At its regular meeting last week, the Hanceville City Council approved a $4.67 million budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, coming in just $38,959 beneath projected revenues of $4.709 million.

General Fund expenses make up $630,000 of the new budget, with the largest departmental outlay falling to the Hanceville Police Department, which is slated to work with a budget of $1.298 million. Public works has been allotted $802,493; followed by the municipal court at $495,314 and the fire department at $473,325.

Special road projects funded through a state award from the Rebuild Alabama gas tax program will pass $250,000 through both the revenue and expenditures ledger, with an additional $20,500 in regular revenues from the associated gas tax going directly to the city.

Compared with the budget for the year that ends on Sept. 30, the 2020-2021 budget actually reflects a small contraction — a function of the city’s conservative approach to how the coming year could play out. The overall 2019-2020 budget came in at $4.839 million in revenues (compared with the new budget’s $4.709 million), against expenditures of $4.736 million (compared with the coming year’s $4.67 million), leaving a surplus balance of $103,145 to end the year.

The city council has set a specially-called meeting Tuesday to discuss a spending proposal from the fire department, as well as to address personnel matters at the council-appointed Hanceville Water & Sewer Board. That meeting is scheduled for 4:50 p.m. at Hanceville City Hall.