PROVO - With a bumpy economic road ahead, the city is using $341,814 set aside for future work on a recreation center as a cushion.
Mayor Lewis Billings told the Municipal Council on Tuesday that the money is being moved from the capital-improvement budget to a restricted account to be used if sales tax revenue continues to fall off.
Chief Administrator Wayne Parker said the move does not affect the timetable for the new center. He said a feasibility study is still being conducted and it could be put to a vote in 2009.
Billings also told the council that city departments have been asked to trim 1.8 percent of their budgets in the face of a $1.12 million shortfall in sales tax revenue. Another result of belt tightening is a $327,000 savings in renegotiated employee insurance.
"No one needs me to tell you that we're in a financial crisis, and nobody knows how long it will go," Billings said. As a hint that taxpayers also are feeling squeezed, the mayor noted that Utah County is experiencing a 12 percent property tax payment-default rate.
Even though the budget was tight to begin with, Billings said department heads aren't balking at wielding the budget ax. He said some are actually looking for additional cuts beyond the 1.8 percent target - just in case things get worse.
Municipal Council Vice Chairman George Stewart said he was happy to see the administration looking at long-term measures rather than quick fixes.
Health insurance was one of the city's largest expenses, but Dave Bushman, assistant human-resources director, said the city now has Aetna providing coverage that once was provided by separate carriers. The move means the city won't have to cut healthcare benefits. Employees also will be able to choose a health-savings account that has a higher deductible but allows workers to set aside nearly $6,000 for medical bills.
