Increased personnel, pension costs to add millions to budget

Will cut into city's reserve fund

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The city of Page could be paying an extra $1.2 million in personnel costs this upcoming budget year beginning July 1.
According to a recently released preliminary expense budget, the city will be budgeting for three recently hired full time police officers and three future full time EMT/firefighters. A new city human resources director, a new city planner/GIS technician, and 1.5 seasonal public works maintenance workers are also on the menu for fiscal year 2018.
Additionally, the city is slated to pay $1 million toward an outstanding unfunded Police and Fire pension fund debt. Not unique to Page, municipalities across Arizona are struggling to pay state-run pension plans for emergency response workers. In Phoenix alone, the tab is expected to balloon up to $294 million this upcoming budget year.

In total, the city could be increasing its general fund expenditures to $4.4 million in FY 18. With a projected cash balance in city coffers of $12 million by current fiscal year’s end, City Manager Crystal Dyches predicts the city will likely leave $7.5 million in the fund after final budgeting. This is compared with the roughly $7.8 million left after budgeting for FY 2017.
The city will also be increasing its yearly debt service payment from $3.2 million in budget year 2017 to $3.6 in budget year 2018. The city has incrementally increased the payment per year in tandem with recent tax revenue increases. The payments have chipped away at a long outstanding bond used to fund the construction of the Lake Powell National Golf Course and Page Community Center. At one point more than $20 million, the city finance department reports the debt is on track to be paid before its call date of 2021.
Although lodging tax revenues have begun trending slightly down this year, the city is still projecting to make upwards of $10.7 million in sales tax revenue.
$180,000 has also been tentatively budgeted for the city’s newfound role as stewards of the rapidly expanding Horseshoe Bend parking lot. However, Dyches reported to council this week, the National Park Service officials claim that number will be “substantially higher.” As of Tuesday morning, there was no word on exactly how much that number would increase by.
Please note: all numbers provided are subject to change before a final budget is submitted this summer. We will provide more info on the city budget as it becomes more fleshed out and finalized among city council and staff.