When the Cleveland Board of Commissioners convenes on Monday it will consider passage of the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. 

At present, it has not been determined, but the possibility of a minor tax rate increase does exist. In a Wednesday phone call, Mayor Pat Phifer said it would be at most a penny or two, but that the town’s board of commissioners is exploring every avenue to keep it where it is.

“There is a possibility for an increase,” Phifer said. “We are still booking at numbers to see if there is a way we could not do it … We have gone through the budget with a fine-tooth comb to make sure we can pinch everything we can.”

Phifer indicated that the possible uptick is the result of rising expenses across the board.  

“Operation costs and everything else are going up,” he said. “We have had 21-percent inflation since our last tax increase.”

Additionally, as the town looks toward its future, specifically at a much-needed sewer plant, there will be expenses incurred that are not going to be recurring. Administration expenses related to sewer are estimated to come in around $240,000 for the fiscal year, compared to $117,162 for the previous fiscal year. 

“We have money to put back in here to redo the sewer plant,” Phifer said. “Even though we get grants to do it, it still has to come through the budget, so our dollar amount looks bigger, but we have not increased anything. We are just getting ready to build a new plant and we know that.”

Meanwhile, estimated operations costs are expected to jump by nearly 100 percent. 

“Under our operations we had to go in and redo some lines,” Phifer said. 

Other swings in the budget from the previous year include capital outlay at the police department and a reduction in parks and recreation spending.

Seventy-five thousand dollars are budgeted in the capital outlay for the Cleveland Police Department to purchase new police vehicles. 

“We are buying two new police cars,” Phifer said. “We are trying to get in there before they go up again. It will save us about $30,000 by getting them now. That’s almost another vehicle in savings. We have already ordered them to get the price break.”

Following a big year for the parks and recreation department, the town is turning its attention elsewhere.  

“After the addition of a basketball court, pickleball court and new playground equipment, we repaved the walking trail,” Phifer said. “We are kind of caught up in parks and rec.”

The Cleveland Board of Commissioners will convene at 6 p.m. on Monday at Town Hall, located at 302 E. Main St., Cleveland.