The Lima Finance Committee is breaking down the city’s 2023 proposed budget line by line.  Tuesday night, they started their first of three days of budget hearings.   The Mayor’s Office, Utilities, and Lima Municipal Court were just some of the departments on deck for the first night of hearings.  The city is looking good financially heading into the 2023 budget.  They have a carryover of $14 million, which is around 35% of the $45 million estimated budget for this year.  

This year the police and fire department make up more than 50 percent of the 2020 budget. The police department is looking for a five percent increase for personnel costs. The fire department's budget has decreased by 2 percent with most it going towards personnel costs as well. According to the Lima Police Chief Kevin Martin, the police department's total estimated budget for 2020 is just a little under $11.2 million. The 5 percent increase will go towards contractual raises for employees and an additional pay period.

The Lima City Council Finance Committee kicked off its first day of 2020 budget review. The hearing began with a general review of the 2019 and 2020 budget. The estimated budget for 2020 is 38.2 million dollars, which is 5 percent more than last year. This is because of a union labor contract and increased healthcare spending. There was a carryover cash balance of 7.6 million dollars from 2019. The city's finance director expects the 2020 cash balance to remain above 7 million dollars. Overall he says the budget for 2020 is in good shape.