VINCENT

The town of Vincent has been able to include a 2 percent pay increase for employees in the budget for this year.

Vincent, like many other municipalities, operates off of revenue received from sales taxes, ad valorem taxes and business licenses.

The town’s revenue is up 10 to 12 percent from last year, Mayor Ray McAllister said. A little more than 47 percent of the town’s gross income is made up of sales tax.

“We had to cut that much from our budget. I was in business long enough to know that you have to squeeze your pennies,” McAllister said. “We had to get our expenses down to match our income.”

The town has taken advantage of grants from the Department of Justice in order to conserve money and also complete town projects. Vincent recently purchased a new fire truck and a new brush truck for the fire department, repaved Autumn Drive, got two additional police vehicles and also added a new police officer to the city payroll.

“It’s been a tough three years, but we’ve compensated with grants and other things,” McAllister said.

The town has no debt and has operation reserves for more than six months.

“Everyone works together,” McAllister said. “We have some of the best people working for us. When we said tighten it down, they all did. We don’t borrow from anyone.”