Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Sun Valley eyes $6.9 million budget

Public hearing on 2006-2007 plan set for Thursday


By MEGAN THOMAS
Express Staff Writer

The Sun Valley City Council will establish the public service needs of Sun Valley's residents and guests for the coming year during a Thursday public hearing on the city's proposed 2006-2007 fiscal year budget.

Policy decisions such as a contribution to the Wood River Community YMCA, restructuring the city's local option tax and appropriating money to new capital improvement projects will be discussed at 4 p.m., July 20, during the regular City Council meeting at Sun Valley City Hall.

The proposed $6.88 million 2006-2007 fiscal year budget forecasts conservative revenue collections and lower expenditures than the previous fiscal year in all city funds, except the capital improvements fund.

The budget comes in light of a larger long-term financial analysis. City officials will see a multi-year financial strategy that includes a multi-year budget. The multi-year budget outlines anticipated revenues and expenditures to enable officials to plan for immediate and long-term financial needs. If adopted, the multi-year budget will not commit the city to expenditures beyond the fiscal year. Instead, the multi-year budget would serve as a planning tool to direct fiscal decisions.

Those decisions include increasing financial commitments to the Wood River Community YMCA to meet a $500,000 contribution over the next five years. During three work sessions in June, the City Council agreed to move forward with a $50,000 contribution to the YMCA in the 2006-2007 fiscal budget. That is money that had been slated for the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau.

However, the city still plans to grant the chamber $348,000 for contracted marketing services. The city's financial commitment to the YMCA and the chamber are funded through local option tax revenues rather than property taxes or other sources.

The multi-year fund approach also includes a five-year capital improvement plan and a revenue analysis that evaluates existing revenue sources and identifies additional potential funding sources, such as electric franchise fees, planning and zoning fees, and local option taxes.

In light of the updated revenue analysis, city officials will evaluate various tax rate scenarios to appropriately fund future capital projects such as land acquisition and open-space protection.

The council will examine the LOT tax rate structures and evaluate different scenarios. Options under consideration include increasing the bed tax, decreasing the retail tax, and reinstating taxes on ski lift tickets and building materials.

Sun Valley collects a 3 percent local option tax on lodging receipts, liquor by the drink and retail sales. The council may consider asking voters to change the tax structure in light of a changing community, specifically a shift to a second-home economy. The city's LOT rates and taxable sales will continue through January 2011, unless brought before the voters for a change.

Other changes proposed in the budget include capital projects such as a bus shelter, larger street and path maintenance projects, improvements to council chambers and updating the city's transit service plan.

Sun Valley Estimated 2006-2007 Expenditures

General Fund $3,977,306

Street Fund $573,494

Debt Service Fund $900,885

Fixed Asset Replacement Fund $127,070

Capital Improvement Fund $950,000

Workforce Housing Fund $352,628

Land Acquisition Fund $0

Total Proposed Expenditures $6,881,383




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