Pricey improvements planned for Timnath

By Dan MacArthur
Fossil Creek Current

Timnath town government in 2008 will staff up and prepare to tackle nearly $17.4 million in capital improvements.

Big-ticket items contained in next year's budget include $4.5 million to contain Boxelder Creek and prevent future flooding, $4 million to replace the Harmony Road bridge over the Poudre River, $2.8 million for widening and improving Harmony Road, $2.4 million for extending the main sewer line and $2.2 million for original town utility, street, sidewalk and drainage improvements.

The flurry of capital improvements will be funded from the $25 million in revenue bonds issued by the town's urban renewal authority in August. The same projects are in this year's budget but work could not begin until the bonds were sold.

Timnath will take on personnel as well as projects. It plans to hire an accountant, a public information officer, a maintenance worker, an information technology specialist to maintain the wireless Internet system, and potentially a police officer as the town transitions toward creating its own department.

The new hires together with the current staff will bring the town's personnel expenses to an estimated $508,555. That does not include the $605,900 in contracted services including the town administrator, engineer, attorney, planner and development director. The staff expenditures also were inflated by the shift of salary costs to the general fund from the urban renewal authority following issuance of the bonds.

The more than 60 percent increase in personnel costs, along with dozens of related expenses, brings the town's projected 2008 general fund expenditures to $1.58 million, a 38 percent increase over the $1.15 million budgeted in 2007.

Excluding capital expenditures, Timnath on the whole in 2008 expects $4.2 million in total revenues, including a nearly $2 million beginning fund balance. Total expenses are estimated at $2.2 million, leaving a nearly $2 million reserve fund, all but $185,000 of which is earmarked for specific purposes.

"We build reserves into everything," said finance director Penny Grossaint.

In the general fund portion of the budget revenues are projected at $755,335. The $830,000 difference will be covered by more than $1 million the town has stashed as a beginning balance to carry it through to 2009, when sales tax revenues are expected to begin flowing from the Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Annexation and development fees of $267,400 and building use taxes of $232,075 are the chief sources of projected revenue. Grossaint said those revenues are based on the conservative assumption that 100 homes will be built in Timnath next year.