When it met in special session June 13, the Watonga City Council approved its annual budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year. That year runs from July 1 through June 30.
The budget shows the city working toward its goals of improved infrastructure and funding the needs of various departments outlined in its capital improvement plan. Capital improvements are long term physical needs such as buildings and repair, pipes and repaving, drainage enhancement and the like.
The fire, police and EMS, for instance, each will receive $50,000 for capital improvements, items such as equipment, vehicles or upgrades to vehicles and buildings. That money is from the sales tax fund. The capital improvement plan noted the departments each needed to upgrade their handheld radios, considered a mandatory need.
The street department will have at its disposal $232,000 from the general fund and the street and alley fund. That figure matches the need outlined in the capital budget plan for the construction from the four way two miles south. Part of that project is the completion of the drainage ditch out toward the casino, channeling storm and artesian water away from businesses along the highway.
Watonga Public Library is on the capital outlay budget for $50,000. It had been previously discussed that the building was in need of repair and expansion. That money is earmarked from the sales tax fund.
Parks department will also receive $50,000 in capital outlay funds. That money could go toward playground upgrades.
The water department capital outlay was near the top of the mark, at $6 million, from loan proceeds. The improvements include a drinking water treatment plant with an ion exchange unit to remove contaminants from the water from three new wells. Nitrates occur naturally in water in some regions; they may also become elevated from runoff of fertilizers in the soil. Risk of specific cancers and birth defects may be increased when nitrates are ingested, although the levels of nitrates in the Watonga water supply are generally considered in the safe range.
While the water well project is a large expenditure, it pales in comparison to the sewer and disposal plant upgrades. Those advances are budgeted at $8 million and are also due to paid through a loan from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. The disposal system has been operating under a Department of Environmental Quality consent order, which allowed the city to continue using its system until it could be augmented. The newly installed drying racks will work in conjunction with the added capacity and capability of the sewage treatment plant.
Light and water administration is budgeted at $210,000, with the money to come from the department’s income, while the public works authority is approved for $713,370. That includes a $692,530 grant from the Federal Aeronautics Administration and $20,840 from operations. The grant is to add a taxiway and begin ground preparations for additional hangar construction in the not-too distant future.