The Atlantic City Council will meet in a regular session Wednesday evening at the Senior Citizen Center next to the City Hall building. On the agenda for the 5:30-p.m. meeting is action on an order to adopt the proposed Fiscal Year 2015 Budget, and the setting of March 12th at 5:30-p.m. as the date and time for a public hearing on the budget. After the hearing, the Council may decrease the budget, but cannot increase it. The budget must be filed with the State and County Auditor’s Office by March 15th.

The proposed budgets for all operating funds amounts to $9.373-million, which is a decrease of $481,863 or 4.9%, from the total estimated expenditures in FY 2014. Even though the budget is lower than last year, the tax rate for the City is going up. The rate would be $18 per $1,000 of assessed taxable value, which is an increase of 32-cents or 1.8%, over the last Fiscal Year.

In other business, the Council will act on approving a Resolution accepting Public Improvements to the Wastewater Treatment Plant. City Administrator Doug Harris says Fox Engineering reports Hawkins Construction has completed the project in general compliance with the terms, conditions and stipulations of the contract. The final payment to be approved amounts to just over $12.26-million, as compared to the final cost of $12.29-million. The City will retain a little more than $27,000, because the blower building was determined to be “defective work,” due to settlement caused by improper compaction of fill materials placed by the contractor.

The Council will also consider an appeal from an Atlantic resident with regard to a Storm Water fee paid for a building in the 600 block of Pine Street. The resident believes the building should be classified as residential, not commercial, for storm water assessment purposes.