The Shadow
On the evening of Thursday, June 13, several members of the Iron Gate Town Council met to discuss and finalize the budget for the 2024/2025 fiscal year. Members of council who were present were Mayor Gary Craig, Councilwoman Kanawha Persinger, Councilwoman Jennifer Tyree, Councilwoman Debbie Harris, Town Clerk Jodi Watts, and the newly hired Ashley Prior, who is currently training to be the new town clerk and will soon take over for exiting Jodi Watts.
Councilman Brandon Marshall, Councilman Gordon “G.W.” Reynolds, and Town Attorney Jared Jenkins were all absent.
The total projected revenue for the general fund for the 2024/2025 fiscal year is $135,441.00, while the total projected expenditures for the general fund is the same at $135,441.00. At the same time, the total projected revenue for the utility fund is $284,185.00 with the total projected
expenditures also being the same at $284,185.00. “This is paying salaries to our workforce, our public works department, also to our administrative department,” Mayor Craig said about the budget. “…the day to day operations running, services to our vehicles, public works vehicles, trash truck, town truck, the equipment, water, sewer, power, all of our parts, which are included in this; so there’s a lot that went into this.” The part that will most affect the residents will be the change in the upcoming utility bill. Akin to Clifton Forge, the town of Iron Gate will be going up on their water by $1 for the water portion of the bill and another $1 for the sewer portion for a $2 total increase. According to Craig, it was 2018 the last time the water bill was raised and no taxes were raised on the residents.
At the last Iron Gate Town Council meeting attended by the Virginian Review, a heated discussion sparked between Councilwoman Persinger and Mayor Craig regarding the Mayor’s stipend. The following evening, members of council sat down to discuss the mayor’s stipend alongside the remainder of the proposed budget. “There wasn’t a harsh word said to anybody,”
Craig said. “We went through the numbers line by line, item by item; one person that’s not here that helped out greatly with the budget is Wendy Biggs, our past clerk and treasurer… The mayor’s stipend, I will again say I wasn’t asking for the mayor’s stipend for me. I wasn’t even going to take it out unless the guys needed something, but that’s nor here nor there. I will never take the mayor’s stipend and put my employees out of a raise. I didn’t get into it for that. I’m not here for that.”
Craig also stated he loved all the members of council and that they were all there for the same reason: to do what’s best for the town “to move the town forward.” Councilwoman Tyree echoed the mayor’s sentiment, stating, “We’re six different people. Seven with you [to Mayor Craig] sitting up here and definitely, we’re not all going to agree, but we all have one goal of the betterment of the town. How we get there may be a little tense at moments, but eventually, we all come together.”
