After a month of discussion, the East Lansing City Council has finalized a budget that all members can agree on.

Gary Murphy, the city’s finance director, said the biggest cut the council made was reducing major maintenance for remodeling in city hall - council members cut the $150,000 in half.

The $75,000 from the remodeling was used for two purposes: $15,000 will be used to make a wetlands inventory for the Commission on the Environment and $60,000 will be used for a new police officer.

“We did some creative financing,” Councilmember Beverly Baten said. “I thought we were very accountable to the taxpayers, which is very important.”

Baten said the council will most likely be able to fund the remodeling of the city by the end of the year with money it expects to receive from the state and federal governments.

The council was also able to find funding for new carpet in the Central Fire Station, 1700 Abbott Road, after initially giving the money to the Social Service Fund.

“We went back to see what we could do because we still had some money left,” Councilmember Bill Sharp said. “I’m glad we could replace that carpet; it’s been there since the station was built in the 1970s and it is the most putrid green.”

The council also donated $20,000 to the Ranney Skate Park in Lansing - which will be built this summer - by cutting money from the mayor and council’s personal fund.

There was also enough money to replace the 10 percent that was taken off the Social Service Fund earlier this month.

Susan Shoultz, executive director of the Council Against Domestic Assault which receives money from the fund, said the money from East Lansing helps pay salaries, phone bills, community education and maintenance, among other things.

“It is important for us that the money be restored because we run on grants,” she said. “If we don’t have it we have to seek out new ways of funding and that is not easy.”

Councilmember Sam Singh said he was pleased with how the budget turned out.

“At first I didn’t think we would have enough money to fund Social Services,” he said. “But I think when people realized whether we should fund people with no insurance or get new carpeting, they came to their senses and did the right thing.”

The council also voted to raise parking fines and late fees by $5, which would bring in revenue of about $250,000, City Manager Ted Staton said.

But Sharp said the fines are still less than or equal to the fines on campus.

Staton said he felt good about the finalized budget.

“The council performed a very difficult task of balancing the budget,” Staton said. “And it’s not always a pretty one.”