Avondale Estates’ 2018 Draft Budget needs trimming
Avondale Estates has less than a month to balance its 2018 budget, with anticipated expenditures in the current draft $361,803 higher than incoming revenue.
“We have some work to do,” Mayor Jonathan Elmore said recently. “None of us [commissioners] is happy with where this budget stands. For a city our size, that’s a pretty large difference.”
The city commission has two more work sessions this year to whittle it down, one on Nov. 28 and another in early December. The commission must vote on the final budget Dec. 11.
Elmore didn’t want to speculate on what needs elimination from the current draft.
A major expenditure last year over past years, however, has been the city’s funding of the Downtown Development Authority through an intergovernmental agreement. The city pays the DDA for services like marketing, branding and recruitment of businesses, none of which Avondale’s done on a consistent basis. Earlier this year the DDA hired a part-time economic development consultant, which the city’s never had, and eventually wants an events planner.
The DDA was initially funded $36,000 towards the end of last year, most of that going into building the Art Lot, a pop-up park on North Avondale Road that remains controversial with many residents. This year’s DDA budget was $180,000 and next year’s projected budget is $156,000.
