Two million dollars in property taxes, $80,000 in parking fines, $16,000 in wine licenses and $350,000 in building permits are all part of the anticipated revenue stream for the city of Ketchum as officials plan the budget for the coming fiscal year.
Ketchum Mayor Randy Hall and the City Council held an all-day budget session Friday, July 21, to review requests and work out departmental details before bringing the numbers to the public and later voting on the budget.
Preliminary figures were worked out in meetings with department heads and two-person council member committees this summer.
"This was a collaborative effort," Hall said. "The council played a vital role digesting all the appropriate information."
The $9,192,047 budget represents a 1.23 percent increase over last fiscal year's. The figure is not more, said City Administrator Ron LeBlanc, in part due to 10 percent of three employees' salaries being shifted to the newly formed Urban Renewal Agency budget.
LeBlanc will serve as the URA's executive director, Ketchum City Attorney Ben Worst as legal counsel, and Planning Director Harold Moniz as development director.
For fiscal year 2006-2007, health insurance rose by 10 percent, and a cost-of-living increase was added at 2.5 percent. The Streets Department will add two employees, and will share a third with Parks & Recreation.
The $197,243 difference between the $8,994,804 in revenues and $9,192,047 in recommended expenditures will come from the city's fund balance. That balance, which is unspent revenue from previous years, will drop from $1,394,462 to $1,197,219.
Property taxes make up a large part of expected revenue. The total assessed property values in Ketchum increased from $2.7 billion to $3.5 billion, despite a moratorium on all-residential development in the Commercial Core, Tourist and General Residential-High Density zones.
The city's housing account, which holds money for affordable-housing projects, has $1.4 million, with an estimated $600,000 forthcoming upon completion of the Chilali Lodge project on Second Avenue and Sun Valley Road.
The capital improvement fund is $140,000 ahead of anticipated amounts.
Blaine Ketchum Housing Authority
Despite a new board and a revamping of its mission, the Blaine-Ketchum Housing Authority's request for funding was met with frustration by Ketchum city leaders—as well as irritation at the lack of funding from other cities.
Board members of the BKHA on Friday requested $67,000 from Ketchum—$40,000 less than a request from Sun Valley.
The city of Hailey has penciled in $15,000 for the BKHA but is waiting to see what its new local option tax will bring in—an approach that irked Councilman Steven Shafran.
"There's a society-wide benefit you're providing," he said. "Philosophically, that should be borne by the community at large."
BKHA board member Michael Roos said the onus isn't only on the housing authority. "You have to be committed to helping make it happen," he said.
The primary revenue source for the authority is a 3 percent transaction fee from the sale of deed-restricted units. As more units are built, BKHA will continue to fill its bank account.
Planning & Zoning
Salary requests for the Planning Department total just over $263,000, plus $27,000 for Planning & Zoning commissioners' pay.
The department still has three out of five staff positions open.
"The wild card in this (budget request) is Proposition 2," Moniz said, referring to the initiative that would require Idaho counties to pay landowners whose property values are decreased by land-use laws.
"If we get to the point of compensating property owners, I don't know where that money is going to come from," Moniz said.
Also in the department's request was $20,000 earmarked for a special events contract planner.
"We do special events permits, but in my opinion we don't do a very good job of it," Moniz said.
The City Council determined that the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors' Bureau has that capability, and the money would be better spent in that direction. Chamber officials were receptive to the idea.
Chamber & Visitors' Bureau
The Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors' Bureau requested $431,000 from the city of Ketchum, or 28 percent of their total budget. That figure is $15,000, or 4 percent, more than last year's contract for services.
Special events, public relations, marketing, brochures and advertising are some of the chamber's expenses.
"We look at our job as one of your city departments," said Carol Waller, executive director.
Strategic goals of the chamber are to increase visitor numbers, promote members and increase visibility of programs and activities. The chamber also has been involved in creating a revitalized downtown Ketchum. It is still working on securing non-stop flights to and from Denver, Waller said.
Police Department
The Ketchum Police Department is requesting $1,479,760 for the upcoming fiscal year.
Police Chief Cory Lyman said that he could be fully staffed soon, in part because one officer has been lured back by the city's implementation of a housing subsidy for emergency personnel.
Fire Department
Newly appointed Fire Chief Mike Elle requested $783,099 for expenses.
A 3 percent decrease from last year is due to senior-level employees retiring.
"Bringing people in at the bottom is cheaper," Elle said.
A $25,000 line item from the contingency fund was moved to the Fire Department's budget to cover a study of merging with Sun Valley Fire Department.
A new health and wellness program that gives firefighters one hour per shift to exercise drew criticism from one council member.
"It's not the amount of money; it's the principle of the thing," said Terry Tracy. "If you're a firefighter, you have to take it upon yourself (to be fit)."
Streets Department
The Streets Department budget request includes two additional equipment operators. Funds for a clerical staffer were transferred to the city administrator's budget and the employee will work for both departments.
Brian Christiansen, Street Superintendent, initially sought $1,460,477 for the next fiscal year.
A new snow blower, with a $455,000 price tag, was cut from the budget due to an Idaho Supreme Court decision that prohibits municipalities from entering in to lease-purchase agreements.
Christiansen will look into renting or buying a used snow blower before winter hits.
Parks & Recreation
Kirk Mason, director of the Parks & Recreation Department, submitted a request for $652,478, 13 percent more than last year.
The biggest increase comes from snow removal, which the department contracts out for some sidewalks and city-owned parking lots.
Council members again mentioned that other cities should ante up more money for their use of Ketchum's recreational offerings.
Sun Valley has allocated $30,000 for Ketchum recreation services.
"They should be at $75,000," Gourlay said.
A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Aug. 21.
