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City of Pawhuska
Posted: Jun 14, 2024 11:33 AMUpdated: Jun 14, 2024 11:36 AM
Public Hearing Held in Pawhuska to Discuss Budget
Ty Loftis
On Thursday evening, a public hearing was held in Pawhuska allowing the citizens to address the city council regarding the proposed budget for the coming fiscal year. Before the hearing began, City Manager Jerry Eubanks and Assistant City Manager Carol Jones spoke to the crowd and gave some unpleasant news.
Up front, Jones sad there will be no raises included in the proposed budget for the coming year. She added that this budget includes two and a half positions be reduced in the police department, one position be removed from the fire department, street department, along with the parks and cemetery department. A member of the EMS unit is retiring and they are not planning to fill that position.
Here is the reasoning Jones gave on how they came up with those numbers.
Eubanks said this is an ever-evolving document that hasn't been passed and will not be approved until next Thursday. He addressed a rumor, saying that Jones has never received a raise and said that this has been a difficult process.
Twelve members of the public spoke during the public hering, including members from the police department and fire department.
Anthony Towers, who works for the police department said cutting emergency personnel would be critical for the town. He gave a real life of example of how it would be damaging.
A resident of Pawhuska, Sarah Broadwell, spoke to the council and said as a mother, she is concerned what some of these budget cuts could mean.
The next step for the Pawhuska City Council is to take what they heard last night and look to adopt a working budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year next Thursday.
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