The Brookhaven Board of Aldermen unanimously approved the2008-2009 city budget at Tuesday night’s board meeting.

The general fund budget was decided at $10.19 million, with thesolid waste budget coming out to $1.3 million, and the water andsewer budget resting around $2.76 million.

The property tax millage rate for the general fund will stay thesame, said City Clerk Mike Jinks. The property tax levy for nextyear, including solid waste, general fund, debt service andschools, will be 95.81 mills.

Mayor Bob Massengill and Jinks both pointed out that the budgetwas created conservatively, in hopes that the city will actuallyspend less money and bring in more revenue than is budgeted.Officials projected $425,000 a month in sales tax, and the city hastopped $450,000 for at least the last four months.

Aldermen decided to keep the city’s share of the dependentinsurance on its employees’ families at 50 percent, meaningemployees with dependent coverage will be paying $33 a month morefor their insurance. The move means employees will be covering halfof the overall $66 a month increase in dependent coveragepremiums.

The budget also includes 4 percent pay raises for cityemployees, including elected officials.

A new addition to the city’s expenditures is $12,000 a year fora campaign to remind local residents to spend money at home inorder to help the city’s sales tax revenue. The aim, officialssaid, is that things like property tax do not have to be raisedwhen sales tax income is higher than expected.

Massengill said the budget this year is a good one, and thankedaldermen for their hard work. The new budget year starts Oct.1.

In other discussion, aldermen praised the work of city andcounty officials and workers in response to the recent emergencysituation surrounding Hurricane Gustav’s trek north from the Gulfof Mexico.

Ward Four Alderwoman Shirley Estes said she’d recently talked toa friend who is moving out of Louisiana after the storm’sdevastation.

“They have no water, no sewage, and no power,” she said. “I wasoverwhelmed with gratitude about what we have here in Brookhaven.It brought home so powerfully what it’s like to have people whowork together so well.”

Massengill told the board that parts of the city’s water systemwere run on generators for several hours during the storm system,but that there had never been a question of citizens having to bewithout water during the weather.

Ward Two Alderman Terry Bates thanked the department heads,specifically noting the departments such as police and fire whowere out during the worst parts of the storm.

“It was scary out there for a while,” he said. “It’s scary whatthese guys were having to face when they were out doing their jobsduring the storm.”

He also cited the quick work of the water and sewer and streetdepartments in getting to work on repairs as soon as the weatherwas passable. Massengill said while city workers would not be putin danger, they do work in rainy weather.

“We won’t put our people out there when the dangerous winds arestill blowing, but we did get our people out there as quickly as wecould,” he said.

Also Tuesday, Massengill told the board he and Jinks had metwith financial consultant Demery Grubbs, who had written an outlineof possible financing options on 18 of the city’s major developmentprojects.

“No conclusions have been reached, and it’s all preliminary,” hesaid, giving them a letter in which Grubbs had outlined thepossible solutions. “I’m just asking you to give consideration tothese ideas and we’ll have Demery meet with us sometime in the nearfuture. I just want to make you aware of what’s going on and thepossible funding options.”