In line and on time is a way to describe the operating budget the Decatur City Council approved Friday.

After past attempts to get the budget ready for the Oct. 1 beginning of a new fiscal year, Mayor Don Kyle and City Council members found agreement this time.

That hasn't always been the case. The 2005 fiscal year was seven months old by the time the city had a budget and the 2006 budget was a month late.

But this one came in on time and the city has good reason to cut its appropriations. Last week, state officials warned that sales tax revenue is falling about 1.5 percent short of growth estimates because of a slowing economy. They mentioned the possibility of proration of school funding. City officials, no doubt, took that forecast into account in cutting more than $1 million from last year's spending.

City officials called the budget conservative, which it is. They hope to end the year with another surplus. The mayor said that surpluses over the past three years meant the city didn't have to borrow for some

$7 million for capital improvements.

That is a good approach to government that most Decatur residents like but the city must be willing to borrow money, too. The nation laid its foundation on the ability to repay borrowed money.

Only about 10 percent of city revenues now go for debt reduction, which puts Decatur in excellent financial shape.

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