Springfield aldermen have given final approval to a new city budget… after a long night of considering around two dozen different amendments to the spending plan.
Aldermen voted to shift more than $6 million into the purchase of new vehicles and equipment for the fire department, and authorized funding for three new firehouses. Funding for a “one-stop shop” to combine various public services… like CWLP, the city clerk, and city’s treasurer’s offices… into one convenient location barely avoided elimination, with Mayor Jim Langfelder breaking a 5-5 tie to keep that $450,000 in the budget.
Aldermen voted against hiring two new library employees to staff the planned bookmobile. And the council rejected Alderman Joe McMenamin’s bid to spend an extra $2 million to pay down some of the unfunded liability in police and fire pensions. Because of that, McMenamin was the only “no” vote on the budget.
