McCall Idaho Headline News

The New Meadows City Council has approved a $3.43 million spending plan for the 2007-08 budget year.

Conservative spending by previous city councils has kept the city of New Meadows viable financially, City Manager John Franks said.

"It appears the previous city councils have been conservative and careful with the available funds, but there doesn't seem to ever be enough money to do everything that needs to be done," Franks said.

The budget, which take effect Oct. 1, continues a growth trend in revenues and expenditures
over previous years.

In 2005-06, expenditures amounted to about $424,480 then leaped to about $2.38 million the following year. Revenues in 2005-06 totaled about $529,750 and increased the following year to about $2.38 million.

The balance sheet for 2007-08 shows a balanced budget. Some additional property tax is available to pay for the escalating costs of doing business, Franks said. Some additional funds have come from growth, but that growth generates additional costs too, he said.
Water and sewer spending comprises the biggest budgetary chunk, with about $2.64 million allotted to those items.

Increases in the water and sewer departments are being pushed by development, and it will take major upgrades to the systems to serve the developments being discussed, Franks said.

Grants or loans are anticipated to do system expansions totaling about $1.1 million for water improvements and about $840,000 for sewer. The remainder would be picked up through water and sewer revenues.

Good luck has moved the amount budgeted for sewer and water up or down over the years.
The anticipated number of new hook-ups to the system could vary during the new budget year,
Franks said.

"If that hook-up number is high, it will make the anticipated collection's budget high, but those hook-up numbers may not materialize," he said. "We have to be careful to keep the expenditures in line with what is actually happening throughout the year."

The unencumbered fund balance can fluctuate from year to year, and that is another source of funding for water and sewer changing from year to year.

Accumulating surplus funds for a few years in anticipation of a system upgrade, can cause the budget to be higher than in previous years.

In 2005-06, water expenditures were about $113,977, then climbed to $647,133 in 2006-07.

Water spending is projected at about $1.38 million for 2007-08.

With sewer, spending leaped from about $108,000 in 2005-06 to about $655,000 in 2006-07 then to a projected $1.26 million for the upcoming fiscal year.

Projected income from the city-owned industrial park will likely be met in the new year. Available space is full, and the city is seeking funding to construct another building.

Current tenants are Active Excavation, ABT Towing, L&L Meats, Nelson Machining & Manufacturing, and S&S Enterprises.