CAREFREE
– Town Council got its first look at next year’s budget
on June 12.
Town
Accountant Jim Keen showed a proposed $5 million General
Fund in a tentative overall
budget of $9.1 million. The draft budget was presented
at a council work session, with a
second one scheduled for 10 a.m. June 26.
The
$9.1 million includes $1.7 million from the town’s reserves
needed to finish building the fire station and $1.9 million
in reserve contributions. Actual real revenue to Carefree
this coming fiscal year, minus the reserve contributions,
is estimated to be $7,161,999.
Keen
said the tentative budget is taking a conservative approach
to sales tax revenues in case Lowe’s doesn’t open as soon
as expected and that the final number could be higher.
Also not projected into next year’s budget is the Easy
Street project, as planning delays have set beginning
construction back until closer to the end of 2007.
Planning
Director Gary Neiss told The Desert Advocate that some
issues, mainly involving ventilation design and the underground
parking, had slowed down plan review and he didn’t expect
the plans to be ready until fall.
Mayor
Wayne Fulcher asked Keen how the current fiscal year was
going to end, and Keen responded
“much stronger” than last year.
Asked
by Councilman Bob Gemmill how sales tax revenues have
increased so much without the benefit of Lowe’s, Keen
answered
that the town has been very busy–much more than usual.
The
meeting then was turned over to department heads for their
respective presentations and funding requests.
Patrick
Neal, head of the streets department, laid out a schedule
of roads to be repaired and the time frame he was looking
at over the next few years. For the upcoming fiscal year,
Neal asked for $465,520 to finish crack sealing and replacing
defective asphalt around town. He estimated completion
of this project would give the town between four and five
years of maintenance‑free service on those roads,
and perhaps longer.
“We’re
getting more and more out of the products,” said Neal
when the council inquired how often the town would have
to revisit
these same roadway repairs.
“We may never have to rebuild our entire (road) system.
There’s a lot of decomposed granite up here, and you can’t
get a better base than that.”
Gemmill
also asked what kind of wear and tear on streets could
be expected from construction of the Easy Street project.
Neiss replied that traffic would be staying on Tom Darlington
Drive and Cave Creek Road, which are designed to handle
large truck traffic. However, should the smaller roadways
around Easy Street be damaged as a result of construction,
the contractor would be required to make repairs, he said.
Carefree
Water Company manager Stan Francom asked for a new tractor
and money for expansion of water lines to support fire
protection.
He
said development fees would fund most of the work and
that he would like to try and have
all the installation work done in‑house.
“We
already pay their salaries,” said Francom. “We’ll just
direct them more toward these kinds of
projects.”
John
Kraetz, battalion chief with Rural/Metro, informed the
council it would cost about $46,000 to equip the new fire
station. “Think of moving into a new house, but you don’t
have anything from the old house to move into it,” he
said.
That
amount includes the cost of new portable radios, a $14,646
price tag that was included in the original contract between
the town and Rural/Metro.
Town
Manager Jon Pearson noted the town originally budgeted
$55,000 to equip the station, so there is a cushion for
any overlooked items that may be discovered once the station
opens.
Neiss
asked for funding to implement a GIS program to map the
town, a process that would take about 12 months. He also
requested $90,000 to fund the downtown lighting program.
Two
streetlights are currently in place as a pilot program,
and Vice Mayor Lloyd Meyer related he already has received
some positive feedback.
With
the development coming to Easy Street, plus the increased
use of the downtown area, Neiss
said the lamps are “an investment in the town center.”
Councilman
Greg Gardner reviewed requests from the town’s contribution
committee for area organizations, $87,000, pointing out
Carefree is the only town he knows of that actually has
a forum for organizations to make such requests of local
government.
Fulcher
noted “there is no shortage of need,” stating, “I think
this shows our commitment to these organizations.”
Finally,
Chamber of Commerce Director Ian Ellison made his presentation
to council, asking for $31,750 for the coming year and
reviewing various changes over the past few months.
“It’s
our intention to create a Carefree Information site,”
said Ellison as he described plans underway
to foster increased business and bring more dollars into
Carefree. Those plans include
promotions, organizing public programs, including “Music
in the Park,” and continuing to develop the Chamber’s
new Web site.
Mayor
Fulcher asked if Cave Creek also contributes to the Chamber,
to which Ellison replied: “No, that’s why we focus our
efforts on Carefree.”
The
council will reconvene on June 26 to review all department
requests and decide what, and how much, will be funded
for the upcoming year.
