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Bayfield sales tax revenues down
7/20/2010 By: Carole McWilliams
Bayfield town trustees will be taking a close look at the budget for the rest of this year on July 20, because sales tax revenues for the first half of the year are down 8.2 percent compared to 2009 (which was down compared to 2008).
The decrease is the total of town and a share of county sales tax through June. Finance Director Dot Caton reported the decrease to trustees on July 6.
“While 2010 is still down from 2009, the trend… shows that we’re no longer decreasing like we were at the same time last year,” she advised.
Town sales tax brought in $213,172 through June, down from $233,911 in 2009 and $237,840 in 2008.
County sales tax (the town’s 4 percent share) totaled $295,162 through June, down from $319,915 in 2009 and $343,912 in 2008.
Both the town and county sales tax monthly revenues tend to be higher in the second half of the year.
The 12 month total for both was $1,270,655 in 2008. It was $1,157,367 in 2009. Sales tax gets split between the operating budget and capital project fund. Trustees have shifted the split to give more to operations.
Trustees reviewed and approved the 2009 audit on July 6. Caton, who started working for the town in February, has been critical of the past few years of audits and the 2009 audit as well.
Auditor Michael Branch told trustees, “Overall the town financial condition is extremely healthy. … Spending in every fund was less than 2008, so your staff is adjusting to the revenue situation.”
Branch is retiring this year. He said that in 13 years of doing Bayfield’s audit, “I’ve seen more progress in this town than any on the Western Slope.” He listed the town takeover of the sanitation district, the new town hall, senior center, and infrastructure improvements.
In other action on July 6, trustees debated whether to advertise just locally or statewide for a contractor to replace a major water valve on S. Mesa Ave.
“I feel we have gotten conflicting messages on that,” Clifton said. He estimates the project cost at $70,000.
Trustee Tom Au wanted to keep it local, to provide work for local contractors. So did Justin Talbot and Debbi Renfro.
Trustee Gabe Candelaria countered that most of the cost will be for materials from another state. He wants statewide exposure for the project bidding. “We are spending taxpayer dollars. We should get the best value we can,” he said.
Trustee Ed Morlan agreed with Candelaria.
Normally the town awards contracts to the lowest qualified bidder, Clifton said. The town doesn’t have a local preference policy.
Mayor Rick Smith asked, “Are we going to have a local preference policy, so we don’t have this discussion every time?”
Clifton said he’ll bring something for the board to consider. “We do this every time we have a capital project,” he said. “How much involvement does the board want?”
Clifton hopes water valve construction can start in August. He is advertising the project in local newspapers and on “plan room” message boards to get statewide exposure.
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