Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Ketchum approves $14M tentative budget

City looks to maintain services in face of tough economy


By JON DUVAL
Express Staff Writer

Gary Marks

The Ketchum City Council has approved its proposed $14 million budget for fiscal year 2010. The budget aims at retaining current levels of essential city services as revenue sources shrink.

"Flat is the new up," said City Administrator Gary Marks, who created the budget in a new, more viewer-friendly format.

At a special meeting on Monday, Marks presented his estimated figures for the upcoming fiscal year, which will run from Oct. 1, 2009, through Sept. 30, 2010.

While the overall budget totals $14 million, it falls to $12.7 million when transfers among funds are removed. The latter figure is a $1.8 million reduction from the 2008-09 budget.

A large reason for the reduction is a drop in projected planning and development fees, more than $200,000 less than this year without any forecasted hotel or annexation fees.

To keep expenses in line with revenues, Mayor Randy Hall said the city would maintain its hiring and wage freeze. In addition, there are no major capital improvement projects scheduled for next year.

As well as providing services, Hall said another priority for the city is to build its fund balance, which is money the city can use at its discretion when revenues fall below estimated levels. For the upcoming year, Marks projected a beginning balance of just over $512,000 in carryover funds and an end-of-year balance of just under $532,000. The final balance represents 8.9 percent of the operating budget, within the 5 to 15 percent recommended by the Governmental Finance Officers Association.

The only public comment on the budget came from Pam Colesworthy, who called Marks' projections for local-option tax revenue of $1.7 million "excessively rosy." Marks had added about $200,000 to the $1.5 million budgeted toward expenses for next year, and equal to this year's figure, in the hope that the economy begins to rebound in the new year.

The council also approved the proposed 2009-10 budget for the Ketchum Urban Renewal Agency, the authority that controls revenue and projects within an urban renewal district, established in 2006. The district generates revenue from a mechanism afforded to cities that directs a portion of increases in property tax rolls that occur through new development or inflation. That portion goes to the agency rather than to Blaine County.

For the upcoming year, Marks projected $437,835 in revenue from the district. Of that, $255,238 will be spent on existing debt from the purchase of property and on construction of the Fourth Street Heritage Corridor. The city borrowed $1 million from former City Councilman Steve Shafran for that project.

Marks said repayment of those loans will be the agency's priority in the near future, and the downturn in the economy would likely mean that no large-scale projects would be taken on for the next few years.

The city will hold a public hearing on the tentative budget on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

Jon Duval: jduval@mtexpress.com




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