The Town Council has trimmed just under a half million dollars off its draft budget proposal in preparation for a decision on its tentative budget for fiscal year 2018/2019.

The council sat down for a budget session on Monday, April 23, and removed items totaling $494,559 from the first draft. The council met last night, Tuesday, May 1 where it considered its binding tentative budget for the year that begins on July 1.

Council will adopt the final version of the budget June 4. At that time the budget can be trimmed further, but it cannot be increased from the total approved this week.

The council went into Tuesday’s meeting looking at a budget total of $38,914,866. This total does include $7 million in a primary property tax that the council has asked voters to approve in a special election May 15. Voters already have their ballots for this all-mail election.

Town Manager Grady Miller told the council that department heads had made supplemental budget requests totaling $1,023,932. Of that $462,697 was being recommended for the tentative budget.

“This shows we have a lot more need than we have resources,” Miller said.

Town Finance Director Craig Rudolphy said when staff prepares five and 10-year projections they include items that directors say should be done to maintain assets without deferring projects.

However, since the town is required to have a balanced budget, any difference between anticipated revenue and expected needs reflects the projected deficit.

Councilman Alan Magazine said he does not want to assume funding will be used where it is originally allocated.

“We can look for opportunities to get [funds] elsewhere for streets, public safety and similar needs,” Magazine said.

Rudolphy said that they can look at reallocating funds if necessary. Any budget transfers would require council approval.

Miller said he will not be recommending any staff salary increases in the next fiscal year (2019/2020). However, the proposed budget does include two rounds of increases for the coming year at 2.5 percent each in July and again in January (2019).

The budget proposal did include funding for an additional staff position for communications director. That request is one of the items axed by the council.

The council also removed a portion of the budget funding for legal services, saying they believe the amount was simply higher than it will ultimately turn out to be.

They also deferred projects including the wayfinding sign project and monument signs.

The budget proposal also includes about $200,000 to begin Phase I of a five-year plan for improvements to Four Peaks Park. The overall facility is considered outdated and not serving the needs of the neighborhood as it should.

The proposed budget includes $4.1 million in capital projects including design work for Shea Boulevard widening, Fountain Hills Boulevard shoulder paving, sidewalk completion and contingency.

Breaking the budget plan down by core services from all funds it includes public safety, $8.1 million; general government, $2.1 million; administration, $2.9 million; public works, $1 million; development services, $1 million; community services, $2.5 million; excise tax for funding downtown, economic development and tourism, $544,955; special revenue funds (capital, streets, environmental), $11.5 million; debt service, $2.7 million; and capital, $6.2 million.

The budget was prepared based on a flat trend analysis for revenue increases. A modest increase in state shared revenues is anticipated, building permit activity includes Adero Canyon and FireRock development. Additional priority staffing levels are considered based on necessity.

Projections do not presume development on the State Trust Land within the next five years.

There were contract increases for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (10.1 percent) and Rural/Metro (3 percent).