Foley Approves Budget

The City of Foley’s municipal budget has been approved for the fiscal year that begins October 1. "In last year’s budget, we finished two major projects that cost approximately $38 million, the library and the Public Works Campus, which are outstanding facilities,” Mayor Ralph Hellmich said. "This year’s projects amount to about $18 million. That includes the new Aquatic Center, Senior Center, redoing the old library building, redoing the former public works for horticulture and our parks division and generally making our city more efficient." City Administrator Mike Thompson said that while Foley’s population has increased 70% in the last decade, services have kept up with growth without increasing debt. The city will have more than $48 million in the General Fund balance, money saved from past budgets, by the end of the current budget. Thompson said some of that balance will pay for expenses such as capital equipment purchases. Foley anticipates approximately $75.1 million in recurring General Fund revenue in the new budget, an increase of approximately $3.8 million over the projected total for the current fiscal year.