Gordo Town Council Adopts 2025 Budget, Includes Raise for Employees and an Increase in Garbage Rates

The Gordo Town Council on Sept. 10 adopted the 2025 fiscal year budget, which included cost-of-living raises for the town’s employees and an increase in garbage rates, starting Oct. 1.
The budget for the 2025 fiscal year (which runs from Oct. 1, 2024 through Sept. 30, 2025) calls for the town to have $1,534,450 in revenues and $1,534,450 in expenditures. Revenues for the town are expected to come from the usual major sources: sales taxes, ad valorem taxes, business licenses and gasoline taxes.
The expenditures, by department, are expected to be: $441,000 for the police department, $390,600 for administration, $286,100 for the street department, $279,250 for the sanitation department, $48,500 for the library, $45,000 for payroll taxes, $26,500 for park and recreation, and $7,500 for the fire department.
The first part of the budget to capture the council’s attention was the raise in garbage rates. Mayor Craig Patterson said this is the first raise in residential garbage collection rates since 2004 when he and Tim Washington were both councilmembers. Washington asked what the new rates will be. Patterson said the residential rates will go from $15 a month to $18 a month for those citizens who live in the city limits and go from $18 a month to $24 a month for those who live outside of the city limits.
Councilwoman Floy Goode asked how many customers live outside of the city limits, and Patterson estimated there are about 100. Overall, Gordo has between 875 and 900 residential and commercial garbage customers. It was almost noted by Town Clerk Katie-Rebekah Patterson that if a residential customer wants an additional garbage container, it will cost him $85 for the container plus an additional $5 a month for the extra container.
Patterson said if one of the Gordo customers who lives outside of the city limits wanted to stop municipal pickup and go with the county garbage pickup, they have to get permission from the county. Vice versa, if a county customer who lives near Gordo wanted to be under the town’s garbage pickup, he would still have to get approval from the county