Beginning work on the city’s 2021-2022 budget, Lamesa City Council members are looking at inflation, lower interest rates, staggering construction costs, lower appraisal values, increased gas prices and an estimation that things aren’t going to improve any time soon. “I don’t know. Nothing is normal,” said City Financial Director and Interim City Manager Wayne Chapman. “The market’s not normal.” Council members met Tuesday in the first of three budget workshop sessions planned this summer. Their next meetings are scheduled for July 19 and July 21. The aftershock of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the economy. The pandemic increased inflation by five-percent, a 13-year ...