The Buchanan City Council planned to vote on the city’s budget in a called meeting Tuesday night, but continual discord among council members led them to defer adoption of a budget for a second time.

The council was initially scheduled to approve a budget earlier this month at the regular monthly council meeting, but yielded in an effort to ensure that this year’s budget was fiscally-sound. Combing through records on projected revenue figures, most of the council agreed to move forward and prepared to announce their approval of the budget to the public. However, Councilman Bennie Westmoreland adamantly refused, proclaiming there was “confusion on the numbers,” which needed to be lowered in order to make sure the city operates on an accurate budget.

“I’m not trusting these numbers anymore. I want to see the facts. Either we got it or we don’t. I want (the numbers to be) down to the penny, and I don’t want anymore smoke,” he demanded.

Meanwhile, the rest of the council countered, noting several factors involved in the city’s financial struggles in the past, including anticipated outside revenue the city fell short of receiving due to the economic crisis.

Though Buchanan Mayor Benjamin Biggers shared the projected budget reflected $2,900 more than last year, Westmoreland continued to defend his stance, pointing out that the inadequate management of financial records has contributed to the city’s shortfalls.

The council also discussed the city’s two emergency funds they’ve dipped into this year and last year in order to assist with the city’s operational needs. The council agreed they were all unsure of how much money is in the reserve. Buchanan Public Works Director Dean Tanner expressed concerns about tracking expenditures and replenishing the emergency accounts, one of which Tanner said showed a balance of about $20,000 last year.

With Westmoreland’s consent, the council could have passed the budget with a majority vote. However, his opposition trumped the passing of the budget because one of the council members was absent, causing them to postpone declaration of a budget. The council said they would finalize the budget in a called meeting, as the date is undetermined at this time.

“We’ll have to operate off of the budget assigned for last year until we declare a budget,” council members explained to the public.

Local resident Michael Wallace expressed concerns about the budget delay, asking if the council’s ongoing postponement to declare a budget puts the city at risk of facing legal penalties. The council said they had not received legal repercussions for the delay, and they don’t expect to receive any fines concerning the matter.

Meanwhile, the budget delay means the financial future of the struggling Buchanan-Haralson Public Library is still uncertain, as the library’s shriveling operational budget is dependant on the city’s allocation of funds. However, Biggers did confirm the city is seeking private donors to support the library branch, in addition to assistance from the Mayor’s Library Salary Taskforce group that’s been designed to help fund salaries at the library branch.

However, the council did discuss a likely nod to grant an across-the-board raise to city employees this year. Biggers said employees may see an increase of about 51 cents per hour, which rounds up to about $100 per month. He said the raise is long overdue, since city workers haven’t received advancements for merit over the past three years, although the city has tried to enhance benefits packages for city workers.

Meanwhile, Biggers said this year’s millage rate as well as a liquor referendum on the ballot for the November elections will also be discussed in addition to the budget at the awaited called meeting. The next regular Buchanan City Council meeting will be held Tuesday, Oct. 13.