As the time draws closer for the Oxford Board of Aldermen to approve the city’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget, board members, department heads and Mayor Robyn Tannehill have been busy discussing last-minute changes and additions.

During a budget work session hearing last week, one of those changes included increasing the amount of funds set aside to take a closer look at Oxford’s parks, in particular, parks with playgrounds.

In July, the board agreed to set aside $25,000 for a study to be done on Stone Park to determine the best use of the land before any renovations are done.

The city has already budgeted $500,000 for renovations to the city’s most-used park, Avent Park.

The aldermen decided that several of Oxford’s parks need to be looked at and see if they need to be updated, including Price Hill Park and Bailey Branch Park, along with Stone Park.

The board agreed to increase the funds to $80,000 for the park studies.

However, those studies will likely be done after the city’s Planning Department completes a city-wide evaluation of parks and pathways around the city.

Tannehill said the evaluation will not be about playground equipment.

“It’s an overall parks and pathways plan,” she said. “As we grow, do we need to be trying to purchase an acre over here to have a park? So this is something separate than these individual park studies.”

The bigger study will help identify new areas within the city where a park is needed and what type of park, depending on population and demographics like if it’s a lot of families in the area and a playground might be the best plan, or is it mostly older adults who would want walking trails.

Once that evaluation is done, then the city can use that information and conduct individual park studies to examine the layout of the property and where equipment and parking would best be located.

The $65 million proposed budget is available to view online on the city’s website. A public hearing will be held at 5 p.m. on Sept. 3 at City Hall. The budget needs to be approved by Sept. 15.

The fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

Also during the meeting, the Board approved an increase to the Oxford Police Department’s budget to place a full-time police officer and new security cameras at the Oxford Activity Center building and the Ulysses “Coach” Howell Activity Center.