Larger Independence budget has signs of 'optimism' Mike Genet mike.genet@examiner.net After the city of Independence made it through the 2020-21 fiscal year without mass layoffs or furloughs for employees, and with some signs of pandemic recovery showing, City Manager Zach Walker calls his proposed budget for FY 2021-22 one of “cautious optimism.” The proposed budget of $336.8 million, unveiled during Monday’s City Council meeting, is about $22.8 million (7 percent) greater than the previous year’s budget, which was reduced due to the pandemic. Fortunately, he added, the city did not have to tap into a $25 million contingency loan from utility reserve funds, nor use any of $1.5 million contingency dollars in the general fund.