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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 19, 2005 Central Point boosts spending by 16% A proposed $34 million city budget will be reviewed by the City Council on June 9 By BUFFY POLLOCK for the Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — The city’s proposed budget, its largest ever, would boost spending about 16 percent. About one third of it would pay for road and other capital projects. The $34 million budget proposal for the 2005-06 fiscal year also includes new staff and the purchase of future water rights for the rapidly growing city. Council members will review the proposed budget at 7 p.m. June 9 in City Council chambers. Finance Director Jill Turner called the coming budget cycle "ambitious." The proposed spending plan is $5 million more than the current budget. She was appointed in October when longtime city financial guru Bill Brugger retired. Turner has made a number of fundamental changes reflecting strategies from the Government Accounting Standards Boards. For example, the total number of individual funds in the budget has been reduced from almost two dozen to eight. Advertisement City Administrator Phil Messina said the budget’s big-ticket items include $1.5 million for the purchase of future water rights from two large property owners: one within the city and one in the county to the northeast. Among about $10 million in capital projects are $1.7 million for improvements to the municipal water system, $1 million for completion of a new City Hall at the new city library site and $425,000 for parks development. Of $4 million budgeted for streets, $1.5 million will be used to redesign the intersection of Scenic and Upton roads at 10th Street. Another $383,000 will fund major improvements at Ninth and Laurel streets, and sidewalks are planned along Glenn Way. Also budgeted is $1 million to replace the Meadows retirement community’s ailing water system. Residents there will pay for the project through a levy. Revenue from the city’s hotel-motel tax is expected to double thanks to a new hotel. The city also proposes to bump up the tax, used to fund tourism promotion and human services grant programs, from 6 to 8 percent in October. Payroll is expected to increase from $5.3 million to $6.3 million, reflecting a 3 percent pay raise, 11 percent increase in health insurance rates, 41 percent PERS (city employee pension) increase and 15 percent increase in worker compensation rates. New staff to be added include a full-time computer technician, a police officer, a half-time clerk, a parks maintenance worker and program coordinator, and 2.5 public works positions. The budget sets aside $140,000 for restoration of the old Central Point Elementary School gym, which will be part of a future community center on the adjacent four-acre site. Improvements are planned at Don Jones Park, the city’s largest, and restrooms will be built at two city parks. Messina said the rapidly growing budget just shows how much the city itself is growing.. He said the city could double in population in 15 years. "I think the theme that seems to come up again and again is that we are a city in transition," Messina said. "We are growing at an unprecedented rate. There’ve been a lot of changes and there will continue to be a lot of changes. It’s going to be interesting to watch." Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Advertisement s