How to get involved
The 2023-24 city budget is online at www.monroewa.gov/177/Budget-Financial-Reports
A budget hearing where the public can give comments will be Tuesday, Oct. 18 at the City Council meeting that starts at 7 p.m.
The City Council is scheduled to adopt the biennial budget at its Nov. 15 meeting. The council agreed to change to a two-year budget cycle this April.
MONROE — Mayor Geoffrey Thomas's proposed $198 million 2023-2024 two-year budget adds staff and continues progress on plans framed by the city's six-prong "Imagine Monroe" vision that focuses on people.
The general fund, for day-to-day operations, has a two-year budget of $44.1 million.
The city will continue its plans for upgrading its municipal campus and later its police station. The police station dates to 1991 and is inadequate for today's needs, Police Chief Jeff Jolley wrote in an overview presented last week. The city is funding this work by issuing bonds which are gradually being repaid back from revenue from real estate taxes, which is a tax collected whenever real estate changes hands.
The budget adds a human services coordinator and increases the city public records officer's position to full-time. (The city handled 1,237 requests last year, and predicts a cumulative increase when all Monroe Police officers begin wearing body cameras soon.)
Part of the city's plans is making things easier to access and use for residents.
For example, the city is translating more documents to Spanish so more residents can read them. The planning department next year plans to start offering the ability to file permits through an online portal.
Next year, there are plans to add a pickleball court at Sky River Park and give Blueberry Park a better playground.
It plans to plant 30 new trees along the streets next year, similar to how it put in 30 new trees this year. It also invests in continued work on improving roads with railroad crossings under the goal to have the city gain authorization to be a "railroad quiet zone." A quiet zone means there's enough safety features at crossings so trains do not have to use their horn to announce their approach.
The Monroe Police Department accounts for $19.4 million, or 44%, of the general fund budget over the next two years.
The city's parks department and its planning department are the next two largest pieces of the city's day-to-day budget, representing about 20% of this budget.
Future plans include electrifying the city's vehicle fleet in 2025 and a possible park bond ballot measure in 2026.
There was a budget presentation at the Oct. 11 council meeting after press time.
