Rapid City Council advances budget approval process

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - The Rapid City Council had the first read-through of the proposed city budget on Monday.

The council approved the first reading of the mayor’s proposed city budget by an eight-to-one vote. The reasoning behind the approval was mainly due to the September 30 time constraint of having a city budget approved by that date.

“We have to vote twice on the budget, so the second reading is the one that finalizes the budget. So, between the first and second readings, we can still make all the changes that the council wants to make. The only time the budget is finalized is after that second reading,” explained Rapid City Council president John B. Roberts.

The changes to the budget tonight would include the re-distribution of $60,000 from the original $360,000 going towards Journey On and allocating those funds to Volunteers of America.

Another talking point was the re-distribution of $50,000 from the council contingency budget of $150,000 and putting that money towards the Early Childhood Connections program, better known as ECC.

The council will revisit the proposed city budget next Tuesday before the scheduled city council meeting.

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