The Columbia City Council will hold the final hearing on the FY2022 budget Monday and vote on its approval.
The council is expected to approve the budget after discussion of additional amendments. Changes on the agenda for the meeting include funding to hold additional events for Columbia’s 200th anniversary and more funding for Columbia Regional Airport construction.
Use of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds is not on Monday’s agenda, despite wide public interest. The federal funds are not technically part of the city’s budget, so a decision on how to spend funds is not required Monday. It is the last date the council has a regular meeting before the next fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
At the last meeting, citizens spoke out strongly on their desire for more public input to determine how the ARPA funds will be used. There is expected to be discussion of the funding again during public comment on the city budget and during the general comment portions of the meeting, and the council might opt to formally discuss use of the ARPA funds.
A number of items that are tied to the budget are also expected to be voted on. For example, the council is scheduled to vote on continuing free fares for the GoCOMO Public Transit System for 2022; a vote on that was postponed during the last meeting.
In addition, council members will discuss amending the city code to set city employee health care benefits (premiums for individual employees will not increase), recognize changes to allow more open collective bargaining and formally recognize Juneteenth as a holiday.
The meeting will take place at the Daniel Boone City Building at 7 p.m. Monday.
