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Lindon council reviews proposed budget, flags road-fund pressure and facility reserve planning
Summary
City staff presented a proposed budget showing a 30.3% general fund balance; council members raised concerns about a low road fund after a possible $1 million transfer and discussed setting aside funds for community-center and facility repairs.
Lindon City Council members reviewed a draft proposed budget and discussed reserves for the general fund, the road fund and city facilities.
Kristen, a city staff member, said the draft ends the year with a 30.3% fund balance in the general fund, below the local cap of 35% but above the older 25% limit. She told the council the proposed budget schedule calls for a proposed budget hearing May 19 and final adoption June 16.
Council members said the road fund balance — reported at about $1,386,000 — could be strained if roughly $1 million is redirected to another project, leaving roughly $300,000 for road work. One councilmember noted “there’s always overruns” on road projects and urged caution before approving transfers out of the road fund.
Council discussion also focused on how to fund deferred facility needs. Members debated whether to set aside money for community-center repairs and a parking lot improvement (previously estimated at about $50,000–$60,000) and considered funding options including the facilities capital-improvement fund and the annual park-tax revenue stream.
Staff noted park tax revenue brings in just over $1 million annually and suggested it could fund some aquatic-center improvements while allowing transfers to the facility CIP fund to build a reserve. Councilmembers discussed a goal of setting aside roughly $250,000 per year to build the facilities fund balance; one suggested immediately reassigning a $470,000 transfer to a facilities account to begin saving for future projects. Council discussion said that leaving the $470,000 in park tax and using park-tax-eligible projects for near-term work was a viable approach.
A staff member reminded the council that state law requires the tentative and final budgets (the only two required public hearings) and that, in recent years, state rules also require a public hearing for any transfers involving utility funds and a hearing to review the compensation plan. Staff said postcards and a hard-copy mailer will be sent to utility account holders when those transfers are proposed.
The council directed staff to incorporate tonight’s comments into the proposed budget and return with the May 19 proposed budget and a final budget for adoption on June 16.
