Springfield’s alderpeople have unanimously approved the new city budget for the coming fiscal year.
The vote came during a marathon four-hour meeting of the City Council Tuesday, where all of the alderpeople reviewed and considered around 20 amendments to the spending plan put forward by Mayor Jim Langfelder.
One of the biggest additions was an extra $2.3 million added to the budget for increased police salaries that are expected to take effect once current contract negotiations are concluded.
The budget approval was noteworthy in that it marked the first and only time that Alderman Joe McMenamin voted in favor of a city budget during his 12 years on the Council.
McMenamin has routinely voted “no” on budgets in the past, primarily over concerns about what he saw as inadequate pension funding.
This year’s budget included McMenamin’s request for an additional $1.4 million toward police and fire pensions.
