The Berlin Town Council dispensed with one of every municipality’s biggest annual hurdles Monday, unanimously approving a budget for the upcoming 2023 fiscal year.

At its regular meeting, the council approved a 2023 budget that anticipates an approximate $300,000 in revenues against a projected slate of 12-month expenses totaling approximately $290,000. The latter figure represents an expected increase of around $60,000 over the $230,000 in expenses that the town had budgeted for the soon-to-end current fiscal year, thanks to surging inflation and other factors.

Mayor Patrick Bates said the projected $300,000 in combined revenues for FY 2023 is a conservative figure; one based on calculating 90 percent of the current year’s town revenues and shaping a new annual budget around it.

“We don’t assume any automatic increases in revenue,” said Bates. “Rather, we make those projections based on the idea that we might have to deal with less [money]. That way, it always helps us have a little revenue in excess of our budgeted figure, in case things do go well.”

Despite the conservative revenue estimate, Bates said actual town revenues continue to track higher than in the previous year, and in fact higher than the rate of inflation. “Our budgeted revenue for the coming year is about 30 percent more than it was for the previous year,” said Bates, “so obviously that’s not all [due to] inflation — and that’s even factoring in our conservative calculations.”

The new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1 and runs through Sept. 30 of 2023.

In other business at its regular meeting, the council:

Approved the annexation of two residential properties — one owned by Cheryl Hawkins; the other by Ruby Evans — into the Berlin corporate limits. Both properties are located along County Road 1616; Bates noted that the annexation will bring all four property corners of the CR 1616 and CR 747 intersection into Berlin’s municipal footprint. The council also agreed to the installation of a new 4-way stop sign at the intersection, at an anticipated cost of less than $1,000 for the installation of stop signs and alerts for approaching traffic moving in both directions along County Road 747. Council member Keith Hardman cast the lone vote against creating the 4-way stop.

Voted

• to participate in the Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA) employee retirement program, a move that currently affects only the municipal clerk — the town’s only benefitted position — though applicable to any potential future employees. The council also agreed to participate in the RSA’s Tier 1 benefits program for Tier 2 employees, while also agreeing to contribute $10,000 toward the retroactive application of RSA retirement pay-in benefits on behalf of town clerk Keirstyn Montgomery, to cover her years of service before being brought under the RSA retirement umbrella. The contribution will come in the 2023 fiscal year, and was included in the town’s adopted FY 2023 budget as a payroll line item.

Approved

• the creation of a stepped pay increase program for town clerk Keirstyn Montgomery, contingent on her pending completion next year of municipal clerk certification training, and subject to future increases based on additional certification and training. The salary move would increase Montgomery’s pay by 10 percent, and would take effect the month after the successful completion of her certification.

Approved

• a $6,000 service agreement for business licensing software services offered by permit management vendor Civic Review, to be paid out of the upcoming fiscal year’s budget and effective for one year.
• Approved the minutes of the council’s Aug. 15 regular meeting, as well as it s specially called Aug. 26 meeting.