By Morgan Lawrence
The City Council has approved a nearly $650 million operating and capital budget for 2018.
In a 5-0 vote on Dec. 1, the City Council approved a version of the budget. However, the budget will not be fully approved until the Council’s Dec. 14 meeting.
Proposed expenditures included a 10 percent raise for city workers with minimum wage salaries; additional money for catch basin maintenance; and $750,000 for early childhood education. The budget also included pay raises for police officers and an increase in staff numbers for medical service workers.