Budget $ told in planning for 2024 fiscal year funds
Budget talks have begun for Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen, which heard about proposals for its equipment, tourism, State Street Aid, ARPA and CIP funds during a workshop Thursday, April 13.
“We’ve been working through several of our funds,” Town administrator David Smoak said.
One of the major funds, the Capital Investment Program, is broken down into several categories: general government projects — greenways, land acquisitions, Red Mill Trailhead, mid-block crossings, traffic signal improvements, a shed roof replacement, parks and engineering, plus stormwater and road improvements, as well as the Campbell Station/I-40 interchange.
“What you see here is a total of $1.135 million in projects we’re going to spend there” in fiscal year 2024, Smoak said. Of that, engineering projects have a total of $7.9 million, the biggest one being Union Road improvements, of which 80 percent is being funded with state grant money.
“Parks projects will have a total of $2.57 million for FY 2023-24 projected,” he added. “At the end of 2024, we have a projected $7.4 million left in the (CIP) fund balance.”
Regarding the equipment replacement fund, “we have all of our vehicles and equipment that go into this fund,” Smoak said. “We actually bought quite a few vehicles over the last couple of years due to just shortages in the economy and trying to get those ordered earlier. We’re still waiting on some — been waiting for about a year or so. We hope to get them very soon.
“Next year, though, we’re only looking at purchasing two F-150 pick-up trucks in the Public Works Department,” he added. “Those are each, roughly, $38,000 apiece allocated.”
Smoak said staff plans to transfer, from the General fund, $215,000 into the Equipment fund, giving a fund balance of a little more than $1 million.
Town plans to replace every piece of equipment over a 10-year period to make sure it has funding available, Smoak said.
On another fund, “Tourism is a relatively new fund for the Town,” Smoak said. That fund has $508,000 proposed in revenues, wholly funded by the Hotel/Motel tax. The Town administrator said he anticipates a proposed $237,235 expenditure total for Fiscal Year 2024.
“We have just added an employee for this year,” Smoak said. “We have a part-time employee next year, which will be funded through (American Rescue Plan Act) funding.
“The museum also comes under Tourism,” he added. It has $466,760 in proposed expenditures, but he added the museum would be closed for a time for renovations.
State Street Aid fund includes street maintenance, resurfacing, sidewalks, greenways, guardrails, traffic calming, street striping and traffic signals. It has proposed revenues of $868,000, with $250,000 to be transferred from the general fund, and proposed revenues of $1.2 million, leaving a fund balance of $1.9 million.
The ARPA fund has a proposed $898,121 in revenues and $7.4 million in expenditures, leaving a fund balance of $706,902.
The fund will be used this year for Town Hall improvements, stormwater parking facilities, essential personnel pay, broadband infrastructure and the stormwater master plan and improvements.
