Star Valley Ranch council reviews second reading of appropriations budget, projects lower revenues

Staff member presented the town—s second reading of the appropriations budget, saying the packet shows a set of changes from the first reading and asking council members to consult the "change" column to see what altered.

"The state forecast data that we received, full, identified Lincoln County as being down a projected 8% this time here," Staff member said, and the budget reduces sales and use tax income accordingly while the council considers whether that forecast is too aggressive. Staff also noted lower projected interest income, stating, "We've lowered it from a $136,000 down to 98." Together those adjustments and a handful of expense increases reduce general fund revenue by about $205,000 from the first reading.

Staff reviewed expense-side changes, pointing to a roughly $21,000 increase in public safety spending and a municipal court contract adjustment to $1,000 a month; those increases and other adjustments reduced the projected general fund excess to about $614,000. "So total general fund revenue down at the bottom," Staff member said, summarizing the net effect.

On consolidated figures, staff reported a combined general- and water-fund excess of about $635,000 and said the town is targeting a little over $5,000,000 in CapEx authorizations for next year, while forecasting reserves to remain slightly above $4,000,000. After a brief exchange, a motion was made to approve the second reading of the appropriations budget; the transcript contains the motion but does not record a vote tally.

The council is expected to continue discussing some of the assumptions before the third reading, including whether to adjust the sales/use tax projection and decisions on pending capital projects.