Lafayette City Council signed off on a slimmer spending plan Monday evening during a special meeting that addressed several items, including budget-related ordinances.
Originally, the council agreed to a 2013 budget of $53.2 million, but earlier this month, the city received its increase for health insurance — 17 percent. The city had budgeted for a 12 percent hike. That unexpected 5 percent difference caused city officials to reconfigure the budget.
At Monday’s meeting, the council first amended the original budget down to $52.6 million.
Even after trimming to cover health insurance costs, the 2013 budget is 2.38 percent higher than this year’s spending plan, Lafayette Controller Mike Jones said.
The new budget eliminated two new positions for police officers and leaves vacant two job openings at the street department. It also plans for leaving three firefighter positions vacant when retirements happen next year. Jones expects the tax rate to be close to this year’s rate of $1.019 per $100 of assessed value.
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