The Norman City Council unanimously adopted the city’s projected budget for the 2025 fiscal year during its special meeting on Tuesday.
The budget is projected to reach $271,227,424, an increase of about $18 million from last year’s budget.
According to the city manager’s letter in the budget plan packet, the primary reason for this increase comes from capital project allocations in the Water and Waste Reclamation utility funds, the implementation of the new Young Family Athletic Center recreation fund and increased debt service expenditures related to the ongoing transportation and bridge capital improvement programs.
Norman is budgeting to have $307,477,182 in revenues for the 2025 fiscal year, with the largest revenues coming from general sales tax, user fees and charges. Additionally, about $108.5 million is allocated to the city’s general fund, with the primary sources being sales tax, international charges and franchise tax.
In Norman, the 4.125% sales tax accounts for 30% of all revenue and 64% of the general fund revenue, according to the agenda packet.
The budget plan outlines funding for departments and projects including the Community Development Block Grant Program, the police department, the Young Family Athletic Center and the University North Park tax increment finance district.
The Community Development Block Grant Program budget includes two projects totaling $140,000. According to the agenda packet, the habitat acquisition project and the Norman Affordable Housing Corporation acquisition project include nonresidential or residential property to be used for affordable housing.
The estimated police department total for the 2025 fiscal year is $31,232,692, approximately $4.7 million more than the 2023 fiscal year total, which totaled $26,546,712. The 2024 fiscal year estimated total was about $1.5 million more than the 2023 total.
The police department total is based on finances from salaries and benefits, supplies and materials, services and maintenance, internal services and capital expenditures.
The 2025 estimated expenditures for the Young Family Athletic Center is $1,788,920, approximately $815,000 more than the estimated total for the 2024 fiscal year.
The University North Park tax increment finance district has allocated a fund balance of $5,866,167 for the 2025 fiscal year, and will end with about $5.94 million. The $75,744 increase is from excess revenue leftover from expenditures including maintenance, BID expenses, capital projects, audit adjustments and the Norman Forward Fund.
At the meeting, Mayor Larry Heikkila objected to part of an amendment to the budget that moves that the projected public transportation fund revenues increase by $496,189 and the public transportation fund allocations increase by $751,718. Heikkila said the increase to the Public Transportation Fund was too much money going out of the city.
“In my opinion, that’s just too much money out of us to be able to do that. I realize we get grant money, but that costs us money,” Mayor Heikkila said.
The vote passed 8-1.
Additionally, Dan Munson, a Ward 6 resident, proposed a change to another amendment, which would increase the general fund allocations to the city manager department by $75,600. Munson suggested that the city manager should get a car allowance of $500 a month, totaling to $6,000 for the year.
Ward 5 Council member Michael Nash proposed to amend Munson’s change, altering the amendment to increase allocations to the city manager department to $81,600 to fund an assistant city manager position. The council unanimously passed the change.
The 2025 fiscal year budget will run from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.
This story was edited by Ana Barboza and Taylor Jones. Matthew Moore and Avery Avery copy edited this story.
