Mauldin City Budget Balanced and Passed

The 2011-2012 budget for the city of Mauldin is balanced and, as of last Monday’s City Council meeting, passed.

The budget of approximately $16 million includes a that will cover the cost of trash disposal. According to Mayor Don Godbey, the fee will raise between $400-500,000 of additional funds. The fee was originally was proposed at $65 but was then lowered to $45. While the fee was implemented to balance the budget, there were other factors in play. “We didn’t want to lose the quality of public services our community has come to expect,” Godbey said.

The presence of the fee caused council member Dale Black to vote against the budget, the only council member to do so.

Among the highlights of the budget are three public works projects: Improvements to the grounds of the Mauldin Cultural Center, the construction of a and upgrades to Route 276.

Also, city employees will be eligible to receive merit-based raises of up to 3.5 percent. The property tax rate remains at 56.3 mills. Added to the budget were a part-time judicial position at a salary of $20,000. Cut from the budget were two full-time positions that were unfilled.

“We’ve learned to make do with less,” City Administrator Trey Eubanks said. “We’ve become more efficient in how we do our job.”