Montevallo council members and Mayor Sharon Anderson met last Thursday to start hammering out a draft of the city&8217;s 2006-2007 operating budget.

The financial committee meeting was held to balance a budget that is expected to be almost $350,000 higher than the one from this year.

City Clerk Carey Thompson attributed the increase in revenue to numerous items, including booming subdivision construction.

&8220;We expect building permits to increase as more and more subdivisions are being built,&8221; said Thompson.

Although the city will have more money to spend in the next year, Councilwoman Dana Byrd stressed that the city&8217;s needs have increased too.

She specifically pointed out requests from the new library, which have not been included in previous budgets, and pay raises as new expenses.

In fact, council members and Anderson had to whittle down a first draft that had expenditures just over $4 million to match the $3.8 in projected revenue.

&8220;The axe hasn&8217;t been sharpened yet,&8221; joked Byrd at the onset of the meeting. &8220;But that&8217;s why we are here to see what the numbers look like.&8221;