An irregular year is causing City of Warren officials to grapple with an irregular budget.

Warren City Council met for the second of two budget work sessions on Monday night.

City Manager Nancy Freenock said she is hoping to have a more full picture of the 2021 budget complete by the end of this week.

The state has recommended that municipalities plan for a between 10 and 30 percent cut in revenue. The city, in response, took the middle of the road at 20 percent.

A series of expenses, some discussed as recently as Thursday, have been removed from her draft budget she is crafting: the purchase of a new ambulance, and only purchasing one dump truck for the DPW instead of two; removal of the entire Crescent Park upgrade project including lights, trail, and healing garden as well as engineering fees for a proposed Streetscape project.

Those cuts, she said, would total $550,000.

Another $100,000 could be found if the city pool and playground program can’t operate in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Freenock said she’s “95 percent confident” the pool won’t be open but didn’t remove the funding from the budget at this point. She noted that if the pool could be opened it would have to be as a requirement of the state funds that have been invested in the facility.

How much more is there to cut out of the 2021 budget?

Freenock said that’s not really the way to look at the situation as the 2021 budget could be balanced with fund balance, leaving the city with just $193,000 on hand at the end of the year.

That would leave a $1.6 million deficit in 2022.

She explained that she’s looking at crafting and cutting a budget aimed at “trying to make sure we’re viable beyond that.

Council will continue to discuss the budget at next Monday’s regular meeting.

Freenock declined to answer a question from Mayor Maurice Cashman regarding whether the cuts proposed address the need she has suggested for a tax increase.

While Freenock suggested she doesn’t see a way to avoid a tax increase 2021, the decision on council certainly won’t be unanimous.

Councilman John Wortman noted that he’s “only one of seven” but said “I will go on record — I will not vote for a tax increase under any circumstances.”

The city’s 2021 budget proposal will be made public on Nov. 19 in advance of a Dec. 4 public hearing.

Council also heard from the Public Works, Codes and Economic Development departments.

A full story on those discussions will be in Wednesday’s Times Observer.