Silt town officials have approved a budget for next year, and with another healthy year from stores across town, the town’s sales taxes continue to come in showing strong numbers.
With $680,000 budgeted in sales tax revenues for 2018, numbers presented to the Silt Board of Trustees on Monday night show total sales taxes are projected to come back just under $750,000. It will be the second year in a row the town has shown to have significantly higher sales tax revenue than projected.
“It’s definitely been busier and we are very pleased with it,” said Town Administrator Jeff Layman. “We’re up considerably.”
Next year, the town has increased its sales tax budget by another $150,000, as officials expect the trend to continue.
Overall, the town has budgeted just over $2.62 million in expenditures for the year, on $2.66 million in projected revenues.
One major change on the budget in 2019 will be the increased spending projected from the beautification fund, as several downtown projects are coming up next year.
Layman said the city budgeted $125,000 for an Interstate 70 interchange project, which is anticipated to begin sometime in 2019.
“In order for us to grow on the south side of the interstate, the interchange needs to be improved,” he explained. “We’ve heard that from Colorado Department of Transportation officials and a number of folks that have been interested in starting businesses on that side.”
The $125,000 will cover design and physical improvements to the on/off ramps. Layman said the city hopes to lead the way to drive economic development on that side of the highway for Silt.
Other projects expected in 2019 include wastewater and waterline replacements, as the water and wastewater funds show approximately $2.7 million for expenditures in the coming year. That’s up from around $1.8 million in 2018.
Layman said it is critical to replace old water and sewer lines and anticipated that the wastewater and water projects will cost around $1 million each. He said the additional $700,000 will be from grants.
If the city doesn’t get the grant opportunities it seeks, it will put one of the projects on hold, Layman said.
The city will also be putting lights up at the baseball field at Stoney Ridge Park through the beautification fund, and will be making other park and playground improvements through the general fund.
The town board approved a balanced 2019 budget at its Dec. 10 meeting.