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Unanticipated sales tax money prompts city to spend $500,000
By Jill Meier
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EmailMay 26. 2009 10:45AM
With nearly $500,000 of unanticipated funds in the city coffers, last week the Brandon City Council gave their initial approval to about that same amount in added expenditures.
The council OK’d the first reading of Ordinance No. 451, which regards the 2009 supplemental budget. The second reading is slated for June 1.
“We collected a considerable amount in sales tax last year that we didn’t anticipate,” informed city administrator Dennis Olson, “about a half-million more than anticipated.”
Most years, the council supplements the current year’s budget in December. But the unexpected additional sales tax money prompted the council to do so earlier than usual. With the added funds, Brandon councilors were able to move up projects on the city’s workload “wish list.”
The police department will use about $5,700 of the additional sales tax dollars. The department will gain cameras and a permanent electronic speed indicator. Total cost for the cameras is $16,000, however, the department received a state police grant in the amount of $12,784, leaving the city to pick up the remaining $3,216. The speed indicator sign, which will be placed on West Holly Blvd., is $2,500.
The city parks department will utilize about $48,000 of the extra $500,000. The largest expenditure is bringing electrical power to the McHardy Park soccer fields for future field lighting. That project is tagged at $25,100.
“That’s something that came up when we decided to feed electricity to the city’s new bus barn,” Olson explained. By installing the electrical wiring now, the soccer fields won’t have to be interrupted when the field lighting is added.
The eroding roadway into Pioneer Centennial Park in Brandon will be improved with curb and gutter. Olson said city staff would do the bulk of the work. The road improvements will cost $7,000.
The council had also considered installing a sprinkler system on the Pioneer Park soccer fields, but decided to put off that project until the McHardy Park soccer complex is ready for occupancy. The sprinklers were estimated at $6,500.
A park that will be created in The Bluffs development will now have a designated parking lot. Original plans called for street side parking there. The parking lot will cost $12,000.
The city’s community promotion budget will receive an $8,720 boost from the increase in sales tax receipts. That money has been earmarked to erect two “Welcome to Brandon” signs that will be placed on West Holly and N. Splitrock boulevards.
In their budget planning process, the council plugged $10,000 in this year’s budget for the signs, bringing the total available amount to $18,720.
The council directed $55,454 to streetlights for Aspen Blvd. The additional streetlights will go between McHardy Road and Country Club Ave.
Two sewer department-related studies also received the green light. A comprehensive drainage study ($60,000) and a baseline flood elevation study ($50,000) were approved. A major street plan ($3,000), which will define the city’s collector and arterial streets, was also OK’d.
Additional projects included in the supplemental budget are the Country Club bike path, Bethany Meadows drainage project, the Redwood lift station and Hemlock Blvd. reconstruction projects. Each of these projects will be funded through the sale of bonds, Tax Increment Financing funds or grant dollars.
“When we bond for projects, the affected citizens are the ones to pay for that,” Olson said.
The Country Club bike path is estimated at $241,700. The city is awaiting approval on a state grant application, of which the city will be required to provide matching funds.
“We’re disappointed with the looks of the finished product,” Olson said of the Aspen Blvd. drainage project.
Alderman Don Hammond agreed. “As the golf committee chair, that’s a tremendous eyesore, and our long-term goal was to definitely put that in,” he said.
The Bethany Meadows drainage ($60,000) and Redwood lift station ($360,000) projects would be funded through the sale of bonds, while the reconstruction of Hemlock Blvd. ($1,509,500) will be covered by TIF No. 3 and an EDA grant.
Olson said he doesn’t expect the city budget will reap the same heightened sales tax dollars in 2009 as it did in 2008. “I still can’t figure out why 2008 was such a banner year,” Olson said.
The council OK’d the first reading of Ordinance No. 451, which regards the 2009 supplemental budget. The second reading is slated for June 1.
“We collected a considerable amount in sales tax last year that we didn’t anticipate,” informed city administrator Dennis Olson, “about a half-million more than anticipated.”
Most years, the council supplements the current year’s budget in December. But the unexpected additional sales tax money prompted the council to do so earlier than usual. With the added funds, Brandon councilors were able to move up projects on the city’s workload “wish list.”
The police department will use about $5,700 of the additional sales tax dollars. The department will gain cameras and a permanent electronic speed indicator. Total cost for the cameras is $16,000, however, the department received a state police grant in the amount of $12,784, leaving the city to pick up the remaining $3,216. The speed indicator sign, which will be placed on West Holly Blvd., is $2,500.
The city parks department will utilize about $48,000 of the extra $500,000. The largest expenditure is bringing electrical power to the McHardy Park soccer fields for future field lighting. That project is tagged at $25,100.
“That’s something that came up when we decided to feed electricity to the city’s new bus barn,” Olson explained. By installing the electrical wiring now, the soccer fields won’t have to be interrupted when the field lighting is added.
The eroding roadway into Pioneer Centennial Park in Brandon will be improved with curb and gutter. Olson said city staff would do the bulk of the work. The road improvements will cost $7,000.
The council had also considered installing a sprinkler system on the Pioneer Park soccer fields, but decided to put off that project until the McHardy Park soccer complex is ready for occupancy. The sprinklers were estimated at $6,500.
A park that will be created in The Bluffs development will now have a designated parking lot. Original plans called for street side parking there. The parking lot will cost $12,000.
The city’s community promotion budget will receive an $8,720 boost from the increase in sales tax receipts. That money has been earmarked to erect two “Welcome to Brandon” signs that will be placed on West Holly and N. Splitrock boulevards.
In their budget planning process, the council plugged $10,000 in this year’s budget for the signs, bringing the total available amount to $18,720.
The council directed $55,454 to streetlights for Aspen Blvd. The additional streetlights will go between McHardy Road and Country Club Ave.
Two sewer department-related studies also received the green light. A comprehensive drainage study ($60,000) and a baseline flood elevation study ($50,000) were approved. A major street plan ($3,000), which will define the city’s collector and arterial streets, was also OK’d.
Additional projects included in the supplemental budget are the Country Club bike path, Bethany Meadows drainage project, the Redwood lift station and Hemlock Blvd. reconstruction projects. Each of these projects will be funded through the sale of bonds, Tax Increment Financing funds or grant dollars.
“When we bond for projects, the affected citizens are the ones to pay for that,” Olson said.
The Country Club bike path is estimated at $241,700. The city is awaiting approval on a state grant application, of which the city will be required to provide matching funds.
“We’re disappointed with the looks of the finished product,” Olson said of the Aspen Blvd. drainage project.
Alderman Don Hammond agreed. “As the golf committee chair, that’s a tremendous eyesore, and our long-term goal was to definitely put that in,” he said.
The Bethany Meadows drainage ($60,000) and Redwood lift station ($360,000) projects would be funded through the sale of bonds, while the reconstruction of Hemlock Blvd. ($1,509,500) will be covered by TIF No. 3 and an EDA grant.
Olson said he doesn’t expect the city budget will reap the same heightened sales tax dollars in 2009 as it did in 2008. “I still can’t figure out why 2008 was such a banner year,” Olson said.
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Repairs for the roadway into Pioneer Central Park is one of the projects included in the city's 2009 supplemental budget. The improvements are tagged at $7,000. The council held their first reading of Ordinance No. 451 (2009 supplemental budget) May 18 and will have the second reading at their June 1 session, which gives the go ahead on nearly $500,000 of added expenditures to the current budget. City administrator Dennis Olson said the city received more in sales tax in 2008 than anticipated, which will help to fund the additional expenditures. Grant money and bond sales will cover the costs for some of the projects. Jill Meier - BrandonInfo.com |  |
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