The City of Republic’s Finance Director Bob Ford presented an overview of the city’s planned 2024 budget during Republic’s City Council meeting Tuesday.
Pending approval by the council at their next meeting, the city will have a planned operating budget of just over $34.6 million and a capital budget of $64.6 million with an expected budget surplus of $2.9 million if all goes well.
The vast majority of capital expenses, over $50 million, are budgeted towards significant improvement to Republic’s wastewater treatment system.
That project will be funded largely by bond money raised for the project and matching grants from the State of Missouri. Ford emphasized to council that this money is largely earmarked specifically for this project and couldn’t be spent otherwise.
Ford also explained that the city’s annual debts from bonds will be an ongoing point of concern. The city’s annual debt service will be over $4 million for most of the next decade and over $3 million annually into the 2040s. These costs are largely unavoidable.
Improvements to wastewater infrastructure in the city are necessary. Issues related to water discharge during wet weather events have put the city out of compliance with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Republic and the DNR have been working to get the city compliant since a 2011 agreement. The most recent agreement between both parties sets the deadline for improvements in April, 2025.
The city’s full 2024 budget will receive a second hearing and a vote at the next council meeting on November 21.
Republic’s City Council also received updates on the city’s expanded aquatic center Tuesday and what visitors can expect to pay to get in when updates are completed.
In August, 2022, Republic voted to renew two sales-taxes to fund significant updates to the city’s aquatic center, most notably adding a lazy river. The project is due to be completed in spring 2024. Republic’s assistant city administrator and parks and recreation director Jared Keeling presented a full update on the expansion during the council meeting Tuesday. He began by announcing the new name: The Rush. He followed up by answering what he said has been the most asked question — what will the new entrance fees be?
Keeling prefaced his statement with an explanation that the sales tax approved to update the center was meant just for that, covering the cost of the building. He said it was the city’s responsibility to implement fees to cover ongoing costs. Keeling said resident entrance fees would go from $7 to $10 and nonresident fees will go from $8 to $13. Season passes will go from $125 to $140 for residents and $185 for non-residents.
Keeling said his department found the fees on par with comparable aquatic centers in the Midwest, citing Carmel, Indiana and Independence, Missouri.
The fees, along with adjustments to any and all ciry fees for the 2024 fiscal year will be finalized and voted on at the next City Council meeting, Tuesday, November 21.