ANDERSON – The coronavirus pandemic is impacting local units of government through the loss of crucial tax revenues.
During a webinar hosted by the Madison County Chamber of Commerce Friday the mayors of Anderson and Alexandria outlined the impact of the stay-at-home order through April 30.
Anderson Mayor Thomas Broderick Jr. said there are essential services the city has to provide during the pandemic.
Broderick said the city is expected to see a decline in local option income tax, gasoline tax and food and beverage tax revenues.
“The impact could be between 10% and 15%,” he said. “We’re looking for expenses that we can reduce through the rest of the year.”
Broderick said Anderson is fortunate to have a strong operating balance to help cover emergency expenditures.
“Those funds are crucial for us for a short period of time,” he said. “We don’t want to rely on the operating balance for the long run.”
Alexandria Mayor Todd Naselroad said the city couldn’t budget for the pandemic.
“It has been a learning curve,” he said. “We continue to provide the essential services like police and fire.
“Our budget was tight before this happened,” Naselroad said. “It will be tight through 2021.”
Rachel Christenson, interim Pendleton town manager, said the community has been hit with two emergency situations in less than year.
She said last Memorial Day the town was hit by a tornado and the community is dealing now with COVID-19.
“These are two entirely different emergencies,” Christenson said. “We picked up where it left off. With the tornado, there was a short-term and long-term recovery.
“We don’t know when the pandemic will end,” she added.
Marcy Fry with the Elwood Chamber of Commerce said the pandemic was something the community couldn’t prepare for in advance.
“We have been trying to be proactive,” she said. “We’re worked remotely in city government.
“We continue to reach out to the small businesses to offer any assistance they may need,” Fry said.
All four communities have closed their parks except for people wanting to walk. They are also being encouraged to maintain social distancing.
The golf courses in Anderson, Elwood and Pendleton are closed and Naselroad thought the Alexandria golf course was open to the public.
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