Faced with the requirement of approving a balanced budget for the upcoming fiscal year, Selma Mayor George Evans and city department heads have had to do far more than just tightening their belts.

During a budget hearing before the Selma City Council, department heads went line by line through the proposed budget with the goal of finding nearly $1 million in cuts.

“This is a tough process. No one wants to sit here and cut, we want to be able to fund every request, every need,” Evans said. “But, this is what our main job is. We are tasked with being good stewards of the money. I would expect the revenues to improve over the next year, but we have to build a budget based on the revenue we received over the past year.”

As each department head went through their presentations, some of the proposed cuts ranged from not filling some vacant city positions, cutting out ammunition purchases, to even looking at reducing the number of things sent through the mail. One particular suggestion included cutting $15,000 from the city’s tourism department for the purchase of a trolley.

Across the board, and in an effort to make up the $918,592.53 projected overage in expenses, departments were challenged to find 6 percent of their budgets to cut. But, Evans said simply cutting 6 percent would not be enough. Those cuts would only equal $834,117.

“We really need to look at ways to improve our revenues,” Selma City Council President Corey Bowie said following Monday’s four-hour meeting. “It is my hope that we can continue to improve and expand the services that we provide our residents. But right now, we are cutting things to the bone and beyond that.”

The requested budget cuts have impacted individual city departments in very different ways, depending on their size. The proposed cuts ranged from removing $4,917 from the summer youth employment program to cutting more than $270,000 from the city’s police department.

In addition to questioning nearly each and every budgeted expense for the next year, members of the council also looked at a change in some policies and enhanced revenue projects.

When discussing the public building’s department budget, Evans told the council the city waived in excess of $16,000 in building fees. Those exemptions went to churches, non-profits and other organizations that went before the Selma City Council for approval.

Council president Corey Bowie also proposed the city allocate $200,000 from the half-cent sales tax for the next two years to go to infrastructure projects. The combined two-year total would funnel $400,000 in funds to needed projects.

The half-cent sales tax fund, which is used to fund an annual employee bonus and fund capital projects, generates an estimated $1.2 million annually Evans said.

Overall, the proposed 2015 budget calls for expected revenues of $16.5 million. The expenses for the same year must fall in line with, or less than, the expected revenue.

In 2014, the city finalized a budget with $16.5 million in expenses.

Bowie said the council plans to vote on a finalized budget during its Tuesday, Sept. 23 council meeting, but could call a special meeting later in the month if the budget is still not finalized.