New Budget Good News for Police, Librarians
The city will hire three extra police officers and give part-time librarians more work hours under a two-year budget adopted this week by the City Council.
The spending plan includes an $87.9-million operating budget for fiscal 1997-98 and $76.2 million for 1998-99.
Council members passed the budget after deciding to add $285,900 from reserves. The money will be used to pay for the additional officers and expanded librarian hours.
The council considered paying to open the library on Sundays, but officials said they would prefer to hire more librarians or give the part-time librarians more hours to better serve patrons. The children’s section of the Main Library typically has a long line of children waiting to check out books, officials said.
The budget also includes fee increases, including a $5 rise in charges for business registration renewal applications, a $1 hike for swimming classes and a $5 increase for some Police Department fingerprinting services.
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