Budget review indicates positive results for city finances

A budget workshop was held at City Hall on Tuesday afternoon to provide members of the city board an update on the city’s financials for 2018 and what is expected to come in 2019.

The workshop was led by City Administrator Phillip Patterson and City Finance Director Christina Petriches, who began with a brief overview of some key aspects of the 2018 budget. These include things such as a three percent increase in city sales taxes since this time in 2017 and a 17 percent increase in county sales taxes during the same time frame. Patterson also presented the revised 2018 budget that included the amounts that were approved by the board for expenditures the city expected to make on infrastructure projects throughout the year, which are listed below.

• Siloam Springs Museum $370,716

• Fire Station No. 2 - $1.75 million

• Fire Station Training Tower $650,000

• Memorial Park - $3.2 million

• Projects and equipment for streets and infrastructure - $2.8 million

• Electrical projects - $660,765

• Water-related projects $574,759

• Wastewater-related projects - $703,468

• Extended taxiway at the airport - $231,264 (obtained through a grant)

While these were the amounts permitted for each of these projects, it should be noted that some of the projects ended up costing less than anticipated. An example of this includes the fire station training tower, which the board approved a contract for in the amount of $534,203 a couple of hours later during the city board meeting, leaving the remaining funds to construct the foundation needed for the tower. Nonetheless, the city’s expectation is to finish out the year within the budget, and is projected to conclude the year with a total of $3.2 million in the city street fund, $2.8 million in restricted cash, or monies that are for a specific purpose and $22.1 million in unrestricted cash.

Projections for 2019 include an estimated 3.3 percent increase in city sales taxes and a five percent increase in county sales taxes by the end of the year. The total amount of unrestricted cash is projected to increase to $23.5 million and the street fund is expected to decrease to about $3 million. The 2019 budget is also expected to include eight significant capital projects.

The projects will be repairs needed on some of the city’s water reservoirs, extending or replacing certain water lines around the city, replacing wiring and poles on the south feeder loop, a drainage project needed at the vet clinic, and a complete rebuild of Lake Francis Drive beginning at the railroad crossing and ending at U.S. Highway 59. Others include updates needed for some electrical transformers and power lines, the possibility of constructing a new maintenance shop facility or purchasing an existing facility and the $31 million upgrade to the city’s water treatment plant.

Funding for this upgrade will be paid for by the voter-approved 5/8th-cent sales tax, the collection of which began on Oct. 1, Patterson said. Other notable aspects of the 2019 budget include a number of new city staff openings and changes to current personnel. These new positions and/or changes will affect numerous city departments. A couple examples include a stated need for two additional full-time police officers, full-time youth program coordinator for the public library or a new full-time position that would be referred to as the facilities maintenance coordinator.

This was the first of three and, possibly four budget workshops that will take place. The second one will take place on Oct. 16, the purpose of which will be to review the effects of the city’s individual department budgets on the city’s general fund, and the third will take place on Nov. 6 and its purpose will be to look at the impact of individual departments on the city’s enterprise, or business fund. If the board deems it necessary to hold, as it could approve the budget earlier, the fourth budget workshop will take place on Nov. 20 and its purpose will be to review the 2019 budget for final approval. All of the workshops are open to the public and will be held at City Hall at 5:30 p.m. on these dates prior to the city board meetings, which begin at 6:30 p.m.