The Brundidge City Council will vote on what Mayor Jimmy Ramage calls a ‘bare bones” FY 2011 budget at its 11 a.m. meeting on Oct. 5.

During a work session on Sept. 28, the council agreed to present the bare bones budget for vote.

“We had to have a balanced budget and that meant keeping it to the bare bones,” Ramage said. “The budget for FY 2011 will be $9,252,621 and doesn’t include any personnel raises and all appropriations are the same as last year. We didn’t add any appropriations and we didn’t increase any.”

The budget for the general fund is set at $2,701,697 with special revenue, which includes grants. at $141,200. The utility fund is $6,344,744.

“Our debt service for all projects, including Wal-Mart and the utility conversion, is $64,980,” Ramage said. “And the really good news is that our general fund debt service is zero. Zero, and that is good news.”

Ramage said that with sales tax revenue down for the second year in a row, there was no money for employee raises “at this point.”

“The money just is not there,” Ramage said. “But our hope is that, after the first quarter that includes Christmas, we might be able to do something. We worked hard to cut expenses and the debt service saves us. The employees that we lost through attrition were not replaced. That’s how we got where we are now.”

Ramage said the council was satisfied with the budget.

“At this point, it’s the best we could do,” he said.

The council will meet at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Brundidge City Hall. The meeting is open to the public.