Council members voted on the FYE 2014 budget at a regularly scheduled Tuesday night meeting. The budget includes several changes from last year, such as eliminating funding for Montgomery-based activities of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, adding an appropriation to the Christian Love Center on Segars Street and allowing for $2,000 each month to go toward the Senior Center instead of last year’s budgeted amount of $1,000.

The budget also includes a 1.1 percent cost-of-living raise to city employees and step raises in accordance with city compensation plans.

The total city budget for FYE 2014 was approved at $58,976,468.

Also at the meeting, commissioners voted to approve both a system use policy and a vehicle and equipment use policy for city employees.

The system use policy updates the regulations for using items such as city-owned hardware, software, mobile devices and the Internet. The equipment use policy implements and strengthens city policy when it comes to the appropriate use of city vehicles and equipment and driving safety regulations.

Some of the rules within the equipment use policy include no smoking, chewing or dipping tobacco while inside a city-owned vehicle and no use of cellular telephones while driving.

“These are updates to policies we already had in place, but it’s always better to have everything in writing,” said Troy Mayor Jason A. Reeves. “These phones and vehicles belong to the public and should be treated that way.”

The policies were supplements to the updated Personnel Policies and Procedures manual for the city, which was also approved Tuesday night.

Also at the meeting, in order to continue the operation of the Pike Area Transportation System, council members adopted Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Betty and Joyce Curry were awarded a $50 Lowe’s gift card as a reward for receiving recognition for September’s Yard of the Month; and 10 radios and interfaces were deemed surplus materials to be sold to the Pike County Water Authority for $500.

“We are glad that the surplus no longer needed for our department can be used by the Pike County Water Authority,” said District 4 Councilmember Johnny Witherington.