Lafayette residents passed on their chance to offer official comments on the city’s proposed budget for next year.
The public hearing Wednesday night for the spending plan, which totals a little more than $55 million, did not produce any suggestions or complaints.
While the budget is a 4.5% increase over the current year, Controller Mike Jones says the numbers are conservative because some items remain unknown.
“Obviously, that will go down, if what we hear is true about the insurance. I just don’t know how much. We’ve budgeted 13% as a placeholder for our insurance. Word is it will come in less than that,” he says. “We have a 2% raise for everybody. Other than that, it’s pretty flat.”
Jones should know about insurance costs within the next few days. Lafayette is one of about 20 municipalities that are part of the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns’ medical trust. In comparison, West Lafayette officials are expecting to pay around 25% more for health care next year.
“We don’t leave too many stones unturned when we put this budget together,” Jones says. “We hedge our fuel, which protects us against a lot of spikes that could happen in gas and diesel.”
The Lafayette budget also includes additional police officers and firefighters.
The council is expected to take a final vote October 24th.
