The new fiscal year is underway in Concordia, with the city operating under a larger than usual budget.

City administrator Dale Klussman says the new budget adopted at Monday night’s Board of Aldermen meeting totals $6.4 million in expected expenditures, with the bump largely attributed to the purchase of 5.5 acres of land north of Interstate 70 to support the city’s public works department. Klussman says the new budget also provides a cost of living adjustment of 2.6 percent, along with a standardized pay scale for nearly all city employees.
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Klussman adds that several department priorities were addressed in the new budget.

Klussman says that Concordia’s new budget also includes funds for improvements to the Concordia Community Center and a fence around the water treatment facility. The budget also anticipates at least $92,000 in collections from the use tax enacted by voters in August.

The budget was approved at a special session of the Concordia Board of Aldermen on Monday night. Klussman noted that there was no one in the audience to provide comment during a public hearing that preceded the vote.