The City of Covington didn’t face a budget crisis like Newton County, but it did share in the new experience of having to significantly cut back expenses after years of burgeoning growth.The city council approved a $120 million budget on June 13, nearly $13 million smaller than last year. Payroll/Benefits Manager Nancy Harvill said the recession helped the budgeting process in some ways, because it forced many departments to look at ways to cut the budget for the first time in years, as opposed to simply maintaining the status quo.Declining RevenuesThe city’s revenues are expected to decline