Washington City Council is working on the 2023 budget and in its agenda meeting on Monday, Finance Director Ken Westcott stated that his staff is sharpening its pencils to get the city’s budget balanced. Westcott stated that currently the budget is showing a deficit of less than $100,000 but anticipated revenues and further spending cuts have Westcott confident that the city will have a balanced budget and will not need tax increase in 2023. During department reports, Fire Chief Chris Richer announced that the department entered into another partnership, this time with AAA. A recent bicycle accident with a car and several other bike accidents throughout the year caused him to reach out to the organization and they have donated 150 brand new bicycle helmets with the commitment of 100 more in the spring. The fire department just wrapped up Fire Prevention Month with 46 visits to schools impressing on students the importance of fire safety. Council will meet for their voting meeting on Thursday afternoon at 1PM.