On May 17, 2022, Mayor Lester Miller presented the Proposed Fiscal Year 2023 Budget, the second full budget of his administration. This proposed budget would cover city-county services for July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023, and there is not a millage rate being proposed.

“We are working within our budget more efficiently and allocating funding to the areas that our community said are most important,” says Mayor Miller. “Not only are we not raising the millage rate, but we also fully expect to reduce it once the Tax Assessor’s Office finalizes the tax digest in a few weeks.”

In this budget, Mayor Miller stressed the focus for the year would be improving public safety, code enforcement, beautification efforts, recreation, pedestrian safety, and economic development. That means these areas will maintain the increases received this year and will be increased again next year.

“We have had great success this past year in these areas, and now is not the time to slow down,” adds Mayor Miller. “We have a great deal more that needs to be done; our work is not complete.”

Highlighted in the presentation were:

Increasing salaries and funding for public safety and adding annual incentive pay;
Beginning construction of the new fire safety training center;
Increasing funding for beautification efforts, including community gateway improvements and street cleaning;
Aggressively attacking blight through the expanded Code Enforcement Department;
Increasing recreation programming;
Installing traffic calming measures and signage;
Welcoming new industries and businesses;
Focusing revitalization efforts in specific areas;
And more.

“I have to thank our Budget and Finance teams for the work putting together this year’s budget, and for working so closely with our departments and partners to focus funding on our community’s top priorities,” says Mayor Miller.