March 29, 2024

City officials release forecasted FY21 budget

City budget public hearing to be held March 3

Seventeen million dollars.

That’s what it takes to run the city of Creston for one year.

The proposed budget for FY21 is $600,000 more than 2019 and $400,000 over expected revenue. The city expects to make up that difference by transferring money from the city’s fund balances — both general and special — of $12 million. The current year’s expected shortfall is $1.8 million.

“We have a checkbook, like you would in your home, and that’s what we call our general fund,” City Administrator Mike Taylor said. “The general fund is the normal essentials of the city: the police, fire, park and rec, cemetery, city hall ... everything except streets and sewer, those are in their own special funds.”

Speaking to the use of $400,000 from the general fund, Taylor said, “We’re using a little bit of our general fund. ... Some years we do, and some years we don’t. ... We’re getting a couple pieces of equipment that we wouldn’t normally get for our parks and rec and cemetery.”

Revenue

A $3.6 million increase in intergovernmental fees received by the city will create $2 million more revenue than last year after the loss of $1 million in “other financing sources” which are not expected for FY21.

The majority of the increase intergovernmental fees is due to a $3 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration grant to fund the airport runway project.

There is a slight increase in the levy rate, but with the changes in property valuations and other factors, the overall revenue, if the $3 million dollar airport grant is excluded, has gone down by nearly $1 million.

Taylor said the tax levy has remained relatively steady over the last 10 years, averaging around 14% since 2010 after a peak of 17% in 2004.

“If you look at our levy rates, we tracked it from 2004 through 2021,” Taylor said. “Ours has been pretty darn flat for quite awhile.”

Expenditures

The biggest change in expenses for FY21 is a nearly $3 million jump in the public works department. A $1.5 million decrease in capital projects and $1 million decrease in business type / enterprises leaves the $600,000 rise in the budget.

The $3 million change in public works is due to the airport runway project, which has been in the works for around 5 years and will be offset by the grant the city will receive from the FAA.

Business type / enterprise is where the sewer and water treatment plant money is accounted for. The million dollar decrease is due to the water treatment plant project being almost finished and paid for.

We’ve had several major projects,” Taylor said. “That’s why it’s so hard to compare year after year after year ... you don’t know what goes on.”

If the $3 million airport project is excluded from the numbers, both revenue and expenses, the total budget is down by $2.3 million.

Transfers in and out

The final numbers on the budget sheet for all expenditures and transfers include fund transfers where the money taken in by the city must first go into a specific fund and then be moved to the fund where it is needed. For example, monies received from a loan must first go into the debt service fund before being transferred to the appropriate fund to be used. Those numbers make the budget appear to be $1 million less than last year, but the transfers do not actually affect the city’s total budget.

Public hearing

The public is invited to attend the city’s public hearing on the budget 6 p.m. March 3 to ask questions or make comments about the budget. Those unable to attend may contact city hall or a city council member to express their concerns prior to the hearing.

“I think our department heads worked really hard to keep their expenses in order,” Taylor said. “We always keep in mind we pay taxes like everybody else, so we’re always cognizant of the effect it has on people.”