The Tonganoxie City Council will gather for a special meeting at 7 p.m. today in council chambers to discuss the budget.

Krull said Monday that the upcoming budget, if approved, would be “in the general vicinity” of this year’s $671,449 tally. Last year, property tax paid for $587,058 of the budget.

Because council members would be viewing the budget proposals for the first time tonight, Krull declined to provide any specific numbers.

But wastewater and water certainly will be at the budget’s forefront.

In March, the city rejected bids for a proposed wastewater treatment facility because the two bids the city received were too high. However, Krull said he would be meeting today in Topeka with Kansas Department of Health and Environment officials about the plant. The meeting could center on reopening the bid process for the city’s treatment facility, which the city’s engineer estimated would cost $2.9 million.

“The sewer fund is difficult to say due to the fact that the previous bid was not accepted,” Krull said. “When we’ll rebid and subsequently what price tag the governing body will decide on will impact operating budgets.”

As for the water issue, the city still hasn’t reached an agreement for shared water with Rural Water Districts 6 and 9.

Wholesale Water District 6, which comprises the city and the rural districts, will have its next meeting July 17. The lengthy discussion over obtaining more water from Bonner Springs has ranged from exactly how to divide the new water to how to address concerns about water pressure.

The status payments from the state to counties and municipalities will have a bearing on the budget also.

In November, the Legislature voted to not send out transfer payments in light of the budget crunch. Tonganoxie was expecting $45,000 in transfers.