Bexley City Council approves $18.5 million 2022 general-fund budget

Chris Bournea
·2 min read

Bexley City Council voted 7-0 on Dec. 7 to approve Amended Ordinance 46-21, which authorizes funding for the city’s 2022 budget.

It includes $18.5 million in general-fund spending.

Bexley City Hall is at 2242 E. Main St.
Bexley City Hall is at 2242 E. Main St.

“This is our first budget coming out of some very difficult years with COVID, where we’ve held off on some of our capital expenditures. In our budget, we have some pretty exciting projects for the community,” said Mayor Ben Kessler, citing parks improvements and a new program to assist Bexley police officers with relocating to the city.

Proposed park improvements total $996,515, including $400,000 set aside for construction of a utility building to house field irrigation and electrical equipment and a permanent restroom facility in Commonwealth Park, which is in north Bexley across from Jeffrey Mansion, 165 N. Parkview Ave.

The budget also includes a $200,000 transfer from the general fund to the swimming pool fund to maintain the David H. Madison Community Pool at Jeffrey Mansion.

“There’s three main items that are driving pool capital: the finishing of our two main slides, which is about a $45,000 cost,” recreation department director Michael Price said. “We continue to replace pool chairs at about $5,000, and it’s time to paint the bottom of the pool, which will be about a $15,000 cost.”

The general fund also includes a separate category for programming for older adults, with $203,918 in expenditures projected in that category.

Earlier this fall, Kessler and Price announced that a $30,000 grant from the Bexley Community Foundation would enable the city to open a new community center to hold activities for older adults and teens.

Kessler and Price said the grant would be used to convert the building at 420 N. Cassady Ave. in north Bexley into a center that o serve as a pilot program for how the city can administer activities geared toward those age groups. The building was formerly the site of Art with Anna, an arts-and-crafts center.

The budget includes $5.8 million for the Bexley Police Department, including a new $36,000 expenditure to assist Bexley police officers who wish to live in Bexley with housing costs.

editorial@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekNews

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Bexley City Council approves $18.5 million 2022 general-fund budget