by Hunter Dawkins, Publisher/AP Member – editor@thegazebogazette.com
After four public meetings, discussion and dialogue about the city budget for this upcoming fiscal year; which will begin on October 1, 2022 and end on September 30, 2023, the Long Beach Board of Aldermen unanimously accepted the resolution on a roll call vote Tuesday, September 6, 2022 at City Hall.
While the city’s General Fund was adopted at just over 12 million dollars, over half of these expenditures came under the police and fire departments for personnel salaries, supplies, services, and capital outlay. Enterprise funds consisted of water/sewer operations & maintenance, port and harbor that equaled out to nearly 7.5 million dollars.
Even with a large portion of these funds being provided from property tax, car tags, sales tax, water & sewer bills, Long Beach Mayor George Bass and Alderman-at-Large Donald Frazer both acknowledged the current taxes would not be raised. Therefore, the total expenditures after adopting the resolution would be $19,779, 385.
Following the ad valorem for the fiscal year, 48.98 were the total mills for the levy of taxes for city purposes and the Long Beach School District finished with 65 mills for school maintenance, building programs, and school bond debt service.
