Bayfield town trustees approved a $10.4 million budget for 2015 on Tuesday night, with half of that designated for replacement of the two old green bridges on Bayfield Parkway.
The $10.4 million total appropriated for 2015 includes an assortment of transfers between funds, meaning those amounts are counted twice in the total. It also includes budget reserves.
General operations spending, including reserves, is just over $2 million. That covers town administration, public works, parks and recreation/ senior center, and the Bayfield Marshal's Office. The marshal's office is the largest General Fund expense at $751,628, followed by general government at $507,754.
General Fund spending also includes a $155,000 transfer to the Transportation Fund for street maintenance. That transfer is coming out of the fund balance.
General Fund revenue is projected to total $1.92 million. The biggest revenue sources are a share of county sales tax at $785,871, half of town sales tax at $270,803, with the other half going to the Capital Improvement Fund, and property tax at $199,296.
Trustees also certified the property tax rate at 5.95 mills, the same as it's been for more than 10 years.
In his summary of recent budget changes, Town Manager Chris La May noted the town's health insurance premiums are going up 30 percent for 2015, and that's included in the budget, along with some salary adjustments "to begin bringing positions up to market rates..."
The budget also includes continued funding for the school resource officer, he said. Most of that cost is paid by federal grants, but that amount goes down each year. The town and Bayfield School District are splitting the remaining cost. The town is already setting aside money ($17,500 in 2015) to prepare for when there is no more grant funding, he said.
Funds for street maintenance have been an ongoing discussion this fall. Last month after voters rejected the sales tax increase that would have brought in an estimated additional $260,000 a year, La May proposed spending $75,000 to $80,000 on street maintenance instead of around $800,000 discussed earlier in the fall.
But as approved, the budget has $180,000 for streets, including the $155,000 from the General Fund. La May reported, "staff determined that the best approach for street improvements was to fully fund a crack and sand seal project, which would include sand seals for Dove Ranch, Sunrise Estates and Mesa Meadows subdivisions, and crack seal throughout town."
Trustees appropriated $829,011 for the Capital Improvement Fund, $862,011 for the Sewer Fund, just over $1 million for the Water Fund, and almost $5.2 million for the Transportation Fund, reflecting the bridge replacement project.
The big capital improvement item is $455,000 for park land acquisition, with $318,500 of that from a GOCO grant. Trustees have been seeking grant funding to buy the 23 acres from the school district between the old middle school and the Pine River.
Capital improvements also includes the annual debt payment ($267,862) on the town hall.
The Water Fund has $500,000 budgeted for line improvements, to be offset by a $250,000 Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) grant.
Following big spending (around $900,000) this year for sewer line improvements to reduce infiltration, the main sewer spending for 2015 is the annual debt payment of $367,340 for the sewer treatment plant.
La May said the water and sewer system budgets keep monthly customer rates the same as in 2014.
But noting the voter rejection of the sales tax increase, he said, "If the town desires to maintain the roads and streets to prevent their decline, the town will need to adjust spending patterns and/ or identify new sources of revenue to meet those obligations. This is the greatest challenge the town faces at the current moment."
He continued, "If not for the funding shortfall in street maintenance, the town would be in relatively stable financial position, which would afford the town the opportunity to continue to provide current levels of service."
