Better sales tax, interest rates mean good things for Mt. Pleasant budget

By James Tilson

7-4-2019

MT. PLEASANT—The Mt. Pleasant City Council received some good news about increased revenues and gave its final approval for next year’s budget at its council meeting last Tuesday.

City Financial Director David Oxman said this year’s budget had “some nice changes” over last year’s budget, especially in terms of new sources of revenue for the city.

Oxman pointed out the interest rate on the city’s Public Trust Investment Fund (PTIF) had risen since last year, resulting in an extra $40,000 revenue this year. The city was able to deposit $35,000 into its escrow fund from payments made to the city for fighting wildfires. And Oxman estimated Mt. Pleasant’s sales tax revenue had continued to grow by 4 to 5 percent over the last five years due to internet sales tax revenues and improvements to the industrial park.

The city’s total budget came in at $2,797,765, which was a slight decrease from last year’s $2,871,930. However, next year’s budget came in balanced, as opposed to last year’s deficit of $42,702.

Although there was a public hearing prior to the council approving the budget, there was no public comment during any of the process.

During the mayor’s report to the council, he pointed out two members of the audience, Jerry and Martha Larsen. They were present to make the council aware of a problem with excessive off-road vehicles near their property. They owned property on the east side of the city, near Parley’s Pond and Pleasant Creek.

Mayor Dan Anderson reminded the council that Larsen’s property was the same area in which the $18 million irrigation renovation project would be placing new sediment ponds.

The Larsens informed the council people driving their off-road vehicles were “tearing up the ground” near the pond and making a mess. They wanted to build a fence around their own property, which is adjacent to the pond. They hoped a fence might lessen the problem. Before they can build a fence, however, they needed a copy of the city’s lease of the pond to know where to build the fence.

Councilman Kevin Stallings told the Larsens, “The whole area where the ponds are going in will be redesigned.” Stallings said he thought the redesign would solve many of those problems, although it might take two or three years to see the final result.

Anderson told the council “we’ll have to look into it,” and promised to continue meeting with the Larsens to resolve the issue.