Charleston’s fiscal year 2001-2002 budget will be considered at today’s City Council meeting.

The City Council meets at 7:30 p.m. in City Hall.

Charleston faces a budget deficit because of various capital improvement projects the city has planned for the upcoming year.

City Manager Bill Riebe said city officials knew going into working on the $19.8 million budget that there would be a deficit, but it is mostly a result of the number of improvement projects the city would like to embarc on this year.

“The city is in really good financial shape. We are very healthy,” Riebe said.

The budget includes a 3.5 percent cost of living pay increase for all city employees that encompasses retirement, wages and improved health insurance, Riebe said.

The most costly project that the city will undertake this fiscal year is the beginning designs to upgrade the water treatment plant, this project is budgeted to cost $700,000 coming from the city’s water and sewer fund.

Money for the water and sewer fund was borrowed from the general fund to pay for improvements, this money will be payed back to the general fund during fiscal year 2002-2003.

Another large project in the city’s budget is the Fourth Street Bridge, which is expected to be completed this year, Riebe said. Construction on this project has already been underway for the last month and the project is budgeted for $400,000.

The budget also accounts for $100,000 for designs of Fourth Street between Lincoln and Madison Avenues, Riebe said. These will only be preliminary designs and nothing has been decided yet on whether the street will be widened.

The city will pay $440,000 to acquire property along Lake Charleston as a part of the Corley/Clapp property acquisition project, Riebe said.

The budget includes $9.3 million in the general fund, $550,000 in the library fund, $460,000 in the recreation fund, $190,000 in the judgment fund, $660,000 in the motor fuel tax fund, $750 in the drug traffic prevention fund, $1,000 for the recreation land fund, $180,000 for the tax increment fund, $5.4 million in the water and sewer fund, $204,000 in the police pension fund, $190,000 in the fire pension fund and $1.7 million in the employee benefit fund.

In other business, the council will vote on accepting an Illinois Housing Development Authority grant for single family owner housing of low to moderate income. The city has used these grants in the past and they have been successful in fixing up homes on the north side of town, Riebe said.

Also on the agenda is an ordinance to purchase right-of-way at 731 Fourth St. for construction of the Fourth Street Bridge.