The town of Clarkdale is focusing on its goals and spending for the coming fiscal year.
Kathy Bainbridge, Clarkdale finance director, said things are preliminary as budget requests haven’t come in yet from all town departments.
Bainbridge discussed the budget at the Town Council’s March 24 meeting.
The 2015-16 fiscal year starts Wednesday, July 1.
Last week, the Town Council looked at the wastewater, utility and sanitary budgets.
The budget will have to figure in an increase for insurance premiums, Bainbridge said.
As things stand now, Bainbridge said that there are no cost-of-living salary increases factored into the budget planning.
The town is expecting to spend money on water treatment, Bainbridge said, a process that requires a certain amount of chemicals to make it effective.
The cost has increased, Bainbridge said, so the town is counting on more than doubling the budget for the chemical testing process.
“We’ve raised the budget for next year to $18,500,” Bainbridge said.
The town now operates a wastewater treatment plant.
It was purchased second-hand from Surprise to save on the cost of building a new one.
To read the full story, see the Wednesday, April 1, edition of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.