Hillsboro projects lack financing
Staff writer
Hillsboro has not identified enough money for several planned projects, including an airport improvement requiring about $40,000 from the city, interim administrator Michael Webb told city council members Tuesday.
The airport account contains only $2,000 to $3,000, Webb said.
The city also will owe local shares for planned state highway work.
“If I put all those things into the budget right now, we would have no cash balance at all,” he said.
Council members may have to decide next year which projects to pursue and which to postpone.
A review found that Hillsboro budgeted $109,000 to operate its swimming pool this year, but costs are expected to approach $160,000.
Webb and new administrator Danielle Bartel found no indication that part of the pool’s cost was intended to be paid from another account.
The gaps emerged during Webb’s presentation of a proposed 2027 budget.
The proposal would keep the city’s property tax levy below the 41-mill ceiling council previously set. The recreation commission’s separate proposed levy of 0.867 of a mill is not included in that limit.
Debt levy would increase 2 mills, primarily to prepare for financing a new fire station.
Industrial development and special law enforcement levies, traditionally set at 1 mill each, would be reduced to about 0.8 of a mill apiece to keep the city below its cap.
The budget also includes a 3% raise for permanent full- and part-time employees.
Reserve police officers, now paid about $22 an hour, could receive an additional $3 to $5 an hour to attract more officers and reduce overtime.
Webb also proposed moving bowling alley income and expenses into the general fund and placing operations under parks and recreation.
The bowling alley’s separate account has about $16,000 remaining and could have little left by the end of 2027 if current trends continue, he said.
The budget anticipates about $935,000 in sales tax revenue despite collections running higher. A conservative estimate would give the council flexibility if revenue exceeds projections.
About $65,000 remaining in the sales tax account be used to reduce transfers from utility accounts.
Transfers would decline by only about $15,000. Webb had hoped to reduce them further but could not while balancing other expenses.
The electric account remains the city’s healthiest and provides the largest transfer to general operations, but Webb warned against repeatedly drawing from utilities to support the general fund.
The city still must discuss utility rates, he said.
The city’s hearing on exceeding its revenue-neutral tax rate is scheduled for Sept. 1.
The budget must be submitted by Oct. 1.