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Carefree Truth
Issue #919, May 10, 2021

Gary Neiss began his presentation at the second budget workshop by explaining that the first workshop was a high level overview of the trends and projects.  This second workshop would go through the numbers.  After being legally advertised as required by state law, the budget would be formalized at the regular May 4th Council meeting, where the tentative budget and the bottom line would be presented for adoption.
 
 
Revenue

 
State Shared Revenue (SSR):
1. Income Tax
2. Sales Tax
3. Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF)
4. Vehicle Licence Tax (VLT)
Local Fees:
1. Local Sales Tax
2. User Fees
The 3rd normal revenue source is local property tax.  Carefree does not assess a local municipal property tax, so revenue is dependent on the first two sources.
The forecasted revenue for fiscal year (FY) 2021-22 is
Local Sales Tax:
$3,700,000-57%
User Fees:
$1,419,000-22%
SSR:
$1,416,000-21%
Total: $6,535,000
 
 
Gary Neiss noted that even with the negative implications of the 2008 Great Recession and the 2020 Covid-19 shutdowns, Carefree's economy has maintained a positive trajectory over the past 10 years.  Additional growth is forecasted over the next FY due to the expansion in construction activity, the opening of the hotel, and the continued success of the restaurants and retail.

 
 
The following contribute these percentages of the local sales tax revenue (STR):

1. Retail-35%
2. Construction-18%
3. Utilities-15%
4. Accommodations-11%
5. Rental/Leases-7%
6. Restaurants/bars-7%
7. Services-3%
8. Manufacturing-2%
9. Wholesale-1%
10. Other-1%
 
Anticipated User Fees:
1. Building Fees-$400,000 (28%)
2. Fines-$130,000 (9%)
3. Court Service Fees-$178,000 (13%)
4. Clerk Fees-$1,200 (1%)
5. Rental Income-$49,000 (3%)
6. Donations-$51,000 (4%)
7. Interest-$20,000 (1%)
8. Utilities Fees-$350,000 (25%)
9. Special Event Licenses-$40,000 (3%)
10. Grants-$200,000 (14%)

 
Forecasted SSR:
1. State Sales Tax-$461,000

2. State Income Tax-$512,000
3. VLT-$182,000
4. HURF-$261,000
 
 
Expenses
 
General Fund-Operational Budget:
1. Public Safety-$2,200,000 (37%)
2. Salaries and Benefits-$1,920,000 (32%
3. Operations-$1,750,000 (31%)
Total: $5,870,000
 
Public Safety:
1. Master Fire Contract (R/M)-$1,553,420
2. Fire Equipment Replacement-$15,000
3. Fuel/Apparatus Maintenance-$30,000
4. Building Maintenance-$6,700
5. Water/Sewer-$12,000
6. Office Equipment-$10,000
Subtotal: $1,627,120
 
1. Police Contract (MCSO) -$476,600
2. Posse-$0
3. Jail Service-$15,000
4. Prosecutor-$55,000
5. Animal Control-$3,400
Subtotal: $550,000
Total: $2,177,120
 
Salaries and Benefits:
1. Administrative Services (5 full time employees)-$625,000
2. Community Development (5 full time employees)-$595,000
3. Public Works (5 full time employees)-$500,000
4. Consolidated Municipal Court (2 full time employees)-$200,000
Subtotal: $1,920,000
 
Operations:
1. Administrative Services-$620,000
2. Community Development-$340,000
3. Public Works-$685,000
4. Consolidated Municipal Court-$105,000
Subtotal: $1,750,000
Total: 5,870,000
 
Capital Projects:
 
Expenses:
1. Pedestrian Crosswalks Improvements-$650,000
2. Town Center Signage Improvements-$450,000
3. Town Center Improvement Initiatives-$400,000
4. Streets Maintenance-$1,500,000
5. Water Infrastructure-$2,000,000
Total: $5,000,000
 
Revenues:
1. Revenue Bond Reimbursement-$2,000,000
2. General Fund Transfer-$400,000
3. Capital Reserves Fund Transfer-$2,145,000
4. Stimulus Funds-$455,000
Total: $5,000,000
 
Loans/Grants-Pass Throughs:
1. Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA)-$245,000
2. Arizona Lottery Funds (ALF)-$10,000
3. Grants-$10,000
Total: $455,000
 
 
Summary:
 
1. General Fund-$5,900,000
2. Alternate Funds-$300,000
3. Capital Improvement Fund-$5,000,000
4. Grants/Loans-$455,000
5. Contingency Fund-$200,000
Total: $11,900,000
 
 
 
Mayor Les Peterson and several Council members thanked Mr. Neiss and the staff for a job well done.  Vice Mayor John Crane praised the new program based format and said it provided a great narrative.  
 
 
Councilman Tony Geiger noted that Mr. Neiss and the staff prepared an 81 page document that lays out the Town's overall strategic vision developed during several Council workshops.  It provides a community profile, historical context, and the overall budget to accomplish those goals.  It is an excellent overview of where our Town is and where we want to go.  He suggested it should be placed prominently on the Carefree website, and should be pushed out to as many residents and businesses as possible.  It spells out the future challenges of the town and how they are being addressed.
 
https://vimeo.com/543400823
https://vimeo.com/543422483
 
 
During the regular Council meeting on May 4th, Councilman Stephen Hatcher questioned whether the budget bottom line was up from the normal amount of around $6,000,000 due to the infrastructure projects.  Mr. Neiss replied that the operational budget is still around $6,000,000.  The Capital Projects fall under a different fund and that amount varies each year.
 
 
Vice Mayor Crane noted that the Reserve Fund had been maintained at a minimum of $2,500,000 for a number of years and suggested discussing what level it should be kept at today at a future meeting.  Mr Neiss agreed.  In the past 10 years, the Town has been bookended by 2 generational economic downturns due to the Great Recession and Covid 19.  During those very significant downturns, the Town did not dip into that fund.  The need for such a large contingency fund needs to be re-evaluated.  As the infrastructure ages, maybe that money is better invested in the infrastructure rather than sitting in the bank.
 
 
Mr. Hatcher asked if there were restrictions on the Reserve Fund vs. the General Fund.  Mr. Neiss replied that the Reserve Fund is restricted to use for operational costs.  Mr. Hatcher asked if he was correct in thinking that the Council would have to release the funds from the contingency fund.  Mr. Neiss said that was correct.
 
 
The tentative budget and the bottom line were unanimously approved.
 
https://vimeo.com/546785844
 
 
 
Lyn Hitchon
 
 
Prepared by Carefree Truth
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