Breaking down Fayetteville's 2022 budget

The Fayetteville City Council approved next year’s $190 million budget earlier this week.

Why it matters: We get it — budgets sound a little boring. But money talks, so they're key roadmaps to determine what our area is prioritizing in the coming year.

Some of Fayetteville's stated goals for next year include:

• Developing a new park system master plan that will provide guidance for the next 10 years of development.
• Completing fire stations 8 and 9 and the new police headquarters building.
• Collaborating with the Fayetteville Arts Council, Experience Fayetteville, and public and private facilities to foster arts programming — and develop a plan that guides overall policy development.
• Bolstering climate resilience, which includes working to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and adding clean energy generation at city facilities.

By the numbers: The total budget is an increase of about $19 million more than this year’s plan. And it includes $56 million in the general fund, an increase of about $6.5 million.

Noteworthy new expenses for 2022 include:

• 24 new staff positions.
• Nearly $2.8 million for transportation, including improvements for pavement, sidewalks and traffic signals.
• $1.5 million for trail development.
• More than $1.1 million for police, including $444,000 in technology improvements and $201,000 for body cameras
• $982,000 for the library system, encompassing everything from new materials to HVAC replacements.

Zoom out: Read our breakdown of Bentonville’s 2022 budget, and stay tuned for Rogers and Springdale.