Dunkirk budget passes 1st reading (09/18/07)

DUNKIRK - City Council members met briefly Monday night for the first of two public hearings on the 2008 city budget.

The budget totals $1.3 million overall with approximately $1.1 million for the general fund which covers most city departments including police, fire, city clerk and general administrative offices. The new budget will also grant a 2.5 percent pay increase to full-time city employees.

No members of the public spoke at the hearing which only lasted a few minutes in a meeting room at the West Jay Community Center.

Dunkirk clerk-treasurer Jane Kesler said the council will continue to meet at the community center while a pungent odor remains present in city hall. She said that more test results relating to that odor are expected to be available by the end of this week. Some of the test reports so far have been very technical and hard to interpret, Kesler said.

She said city officials have not been presented with any bills for the testing.

After approving the 2008 budget on first reading Monday, council members set the second and final budget hearing for 10 days later, as required by law. It will start at 4:45 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 27, in the West Jay Community Center, located on Hoover Street in Dunkirk City Park.[[In-content Ad]]