ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke City Council voted to approve the city’s budget on Monday.
The budget’s general fund comes in at nearly $380 million.
A little more than $28 million will go to fire and emergency management, a little more than $31 million will go to police and almost $8 million will go to parks and recreation.
The year-end surplus has been a big topic of discussion during city meetings.
There’s been an agreement that schools receive 40% of any surplus beyond what is budgeted, but in the new budget, city leaders have officially decided to adopt a new funding formula so schools will have to apply for additional funding.
“We know for a fact that we would never do anything to impede our schools, but what we’re trying to do is make sure that there’s some balance so that we can build those bridges that we need, so that we can build that fire station that we put on hold this year,” city council member Trish White-Boyd said.