Fairview 2020-21 budget projects 

9% revenue drop from last year

By Doug Lowe

Staff writer

7-9-2020

FAIRVIEW—The Fairview City Council adopted a $770,097 general fund budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year with little fanfare last month.

In the new budget, revenues are down $77,856, a little over 9 percent, from the $847,953 budgeted for 2019-20. An estimate of total expenditures for last year released at the budget hearing June 24 came to $791,427, down about $21,000, or about 2.7 percent from expenditures budgeted for next year.

Most cities throughout the state are cutting their 2020-21 budgets in anticipation of revenue declines because of the economic impact of the coronavirus.

In Fairview, the revenue category showing the biggest drop is contributions and transfers. That category went from $131,671 to $30,195.

Contributions and transfers includes transfers of surplus funds being held in reserve as well as transfers of funds from electricity, water and sewer utilities.

Last year, the city put $111,073 in general fund surpluses from previous years into its budget. For next year, it is budgeting only $10,000 from reserve funds. In both years, it worked about $20,000 in surpluses from utilities into its general fund revenues.

The new budget actually projects about a $10,000 increase in revenue from taxes next year compared to last year. Tax revenue is scheduled to go from $407,962 to $418,133, a 2.5 percent increase.

Expenditure categories that increased from last year’s budget to this year’s included parks, recreation and public property, which went from about $92,000 to $102,000; the Police Department, which went from about $173,000 to $178,000; and recreation, which went from $71,000 to $75,000. (All numbers are rounded.)

Expenditure areas that reflected cuts included administration, which went from $91,000 last year to $78,000 for next year; highways, which went from $59,000 to $39,000; and debt service, which went from $106,000 to $96,000.