(Photo by Michelle Dillon) Marietta Clerk of Council Michele Newbanks, right, reads an ordinance for adopting the 2025 Marietta budget ordinance, which includes the general fund budget, as Ward 1 Councilman Michael Scales, center, and Ward 2 Councilman Bret Allphin, left, listen during a Marietta City Council meeting Thursday. Council passed the ordinance unanimously.

Marietta City Council passed an approximately $37.3 million fiscal year 2025 budget Thursday, which did not include the Marietta Municipal Court budget or general fund allocations to the court.

During the meeting, council performed the second reading of Ordinance No. 130 (24-25), which was for a total budget of $37,341,073, with the general fund budget totaling $12,705,200. Then they voted to suspend the rules and dispense with the third reading of the ordinance. They unanimously passed the budget.

The budget breakdown for departments and their budget amounts included in the general fund is: council $332,235, with the highest amounts being for salaries and wages at $114,310 and health insurance at $101,405; mayor $187,435, with the highest amounts being for salaries and wages at $110,580 and health insurance at $40,656; auditor $335,175, with the highest amounts being salaries and wages at $194,475 and health insurance at $81,125; treasurer $73,005, with the highest amounts being for alaries and wages at $42,875 and health insurance at $20,285; law director $657,037, with the highest amounts being for salaries and wages at $316,975 and the health insurance at $103,095; civil service $11,975, with the highest amount being for salaries and wages at $8,055 and retirement (OPERS) at $1,130; planning and development $91,230, with the highest amounts being salaries and wages at $50,240 and health insurance at $20,285; miscellaneous $659,208, with the highest amounts being for transfer/advance at $250,510 and contractual services at $110,000; information system $334,970, with the highest amounts being for salaries and wages at $183,770 and health insurance at $60,845; safety service administration $123,435 , with the highest amounts being salaries and wages at $65,025 and contractural services at $22,920;

property maintenance $275,650, with the highest amounts being salaries and wages at $99,765 and slum and blight at $80,000; police $4,301,650, with the highest amounts being salaries and wages at $2,437,845 and health insurance at $709,815; fire $3,041,430, with the highest amounts being salaries and wages at $1,689,400 and retirement (OPFDPF) at $488,105; service administration $118,995, with the highest amounts being salaries and wages at $65,025 and health insrurance at $18,255; engineering $383,825, with the highest amounts being for salaries and wages at $181,825 and health insurance at $60,850; lands, buildings and parks $1,239,265, with the highest amount being utilities-electric at $309,250 and salaries and wages at $254,850; equipment maintenance $126,790, with the highest amount being salaries and wages at $74,745 and health insurance at $20,525; utility maintenance $211,890, with the highest amounts being for salaries and wages at $113,595 and health insurance at $42,955; and health $200,000, with all of this being for the transfer/advance the city gives to the Marietta Belpre Health Fund.

Before the budget passed, At-Large Council Jon Grimm thanked Ward 1 Councilman Michael Scales, City Director of Budget and Purchasing Mitch Dimmerling, city administration, and city department heads for their work on the budget.

“I also want to thank the employees of the city of Marietta, because everybody realizes that we’re coming in on hard times and this budget has been an exercise of belt tightening and I just want to thank everybody for accomplishing it,” Grimm said.

Scales said council will take a look at the end of the first quarter to see where revenue stands and if there is more room to help non-union city employees get a raise from the general fund.

At Large Councilman Ben Rutherford agreed it was great that the budget process had been worked through but he he pointed out there is much left to be done.

He mentioned the city’s budget stabilization fund it created that council has put some money in and he said it provides a cushion but it is “nowhere near where we need to be … I hate to be the naysayer in the group but I did want to bring that up.”

Dimmerling did not make a statement about the budget during the meeting, but on Friday he discussed via email some of the major impacts on and trends of the 2025 budget.

“We are closing the 2024 year with the completion of all COVID and (American Rescue Plan Act) funds which have been a tremendous financial support these past few years,” Dimmerling said, and because of this the city will now have to be even more strategic when it makes funding decisions since excess revenues are no longer coming in.

Dimmerling shared some information about revenue trends. He said the city has started to notice a trend in 2024 that “our major revenue streams to the city have somewhat stalled” and they predict the trend will continue into 2025.

“This does not allow for much growth in the overall budget,” Dimmerling said. “Conversely, this carries a significant impact going forward as expenses continue to climb.”

According to Dimmerling, the most notable expense increases in 2025 include property, casualty and liability insurance, which is impacting all funds, and the city’s electric and natural gas contacts expired and they were not able to secure the same low rate they did four years ago.

Dimmerling also shared that the focus of the 2025 budget will be to continue to monitor expenses very closely as the city shifts its focus to revenues.

In 2024 the city spent time making decisions to reduce operation and personnel costs, according to Dimmerling.

“The 2025 budget has allowed us the opportunity, at this time, to reinstate a lot of those operational costs,” he said. “However, we were not fortunate enough, at this time, to resume funding for the reduced personnel costs in the 2025 budget.”