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Fountain Hills outlines budget priorities, eyes Lake Liner planning funds
Summary
CFO Paul Soledinger told the council the town finished FY25 with about $38.5 million in total revenues and modest surplus, identified three fund shortfalls (capital projects, streets, and the Lake Liner) and previewed a staff request to budget planning money for the Lake Liner replacement.
At a Nov. budget retreat, Fountain Hills finance director Paul Soledinger said the town closed fiscal 2025 with roughly $38.5 million in total revenues and a modest surplus that left the general fund better than projected. “We brought in 28,500,000 for the year, 2,650,000.00 more than projected,” Soledinger said, pointing to stronger-than-expected sales-tax receipts as a primary driver.
Soledinger told the council staff is intentionally conservative when forecasting revenues and uses excess general-fund savings to cover shortfalls in three areas: the capital projects/facilities reserve, the streets fund (ongoing road needs exceed recurring revenues), and a future Lake Liner capital project. “Our current estimate for that project is $17,000,000, and we've saved about $6.6 million toward that project,” he said, and staff signaled they will recommend budgeting initial planning funds so the town can develop a full design and funding plan.
On one revenue front, Soledinger said the town will begin receiving increased fire-insurance-premium distributions now that the fire department is in-house; those revenues are legally restricted for fire retirement costs. He also reviewed department-level budgets and said street and facility needs—Palomino and a multi-year pavement program—will drive higher capital spending next year.
Council members asked detailed questions about construction-sales-tax allocations, reserve balances, and whether to use one-time carryforwards versus debt. Staff repeatedly cautioned that many of the carryforward and excludable-revenue balances are finite and that large-scale projects will require careful sequencing.
Next steps: staff will return during the CIP and budget workshops with cost estimates and a proposal that may include a planning/design ask for Lake Liner work and a schedule for public outreach ahead of any voter action. The council did not make a binding funding decision at the retreat; it asked staff for more precise estimates and to include the proposals in the budget calendar.
