They are only three months behind:

The McDonough City Council last week approved a $17.7 million budget for this year, three months behind schedule.

Council members said the delay occurred because they wanted to make several changes in how various departments were categorized in the budget.

Mayor Billy Copeland said he wanted to wait until the city received the results of an audit before approving the budget. Copeland said he wants to start paying off $10.7 million in revenue bonds the city currently owes and hoped the audit would identify some revenue sources. The audit hasn't been completed.

The city used revenue it collected to keep services operating.