Batavia budget talk starts Thursday

Batavia aldermen will start discussing the proposed 2013 city budget at a government services committee meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday.

It proposes spending of $92.8 million. That includes $48.1 million in the electrical fund, $4.6 million in the water fund and $4.6 million in the wastewater fund. Those funds are primarily supported by user fees, not property taxes.

The meeting is at the Batavia Government Center, 100 N. Island Ave. The proposed budget is available on the city’s website at cityofbatavia.net/Content/templates/?a=4132. The website also includes questions aldermen have already asked, in writing, about various lines in the proposed budget. They had queries on all sorts of things, from why money is being budgeted for upkeep of a water well that is not in use to whether cemetery fees should be increased.

The council is expected to approve the budget in December. Batavia’s fiscal year starts Jan. 1.