Anni Marshall
Please explain your ideas on how the city can address the costs to upgrade its aging infrastructure?
I have been involved with the City budget for the past 6 years and though sometimes perplexing I feel I understand the process for getting projects done even though they may not be completed in the time the community feels they should be or that no action is being taken. There is much being done behind the scene and I am confident in our City manager, assistant city manager, department heads and staff’s ability to do their job.
I am going to title the response to this question CITY FINANCE 101.
Annually the City Council, working with all pertinent staff, develop the budget. Included, is the list of Capital Improvements, currently 59, which includes capital purchases such as a fire truck, new projects such as Phase II of the Mole and ongoing improvements to existing facilities like the solid waste system. Funding is projected out up to 10 years, some attainable in one year, others spread out as thought possible for funding and completion. With Staff, the Council will review progress and adjust accordingly.
Funding for projects comes in many forms: sales tax, admissions tax (4%), transient occupancy tax (12% with 22% given to the Chamber), planning fees, harbor use mooring fees, lease payments, property tax, (a big one for funding sewer, saltwater, waste management), emergency funding, cross channel carrier ($2), transfer fees, development impact fees, special events revenue, gas tax (roads specific) and grants. Know that all money generated in the Harbor stays in the Harbor, Sewer in Sewer, Saltwater in the Saltwater fund and so on. The best laid plans are sometimes changed as emergencies arise and funding must be shifted.
So what’s the answer? City Council reviews the cost of each project, reviews revenue sources, considers raising fees, renegotiating with businesses like the cruise ships for additional wharfage, researches funding opportunities outside of the City and reviews spending in all departments. The City is placing a quarter percent sales tax increase on the Ballot. I hope will be approved by you the voter. This increase will go directly to the City of Avalon and not the County. Sales tax does not include groceries which is the primary purchase of Avalon households.
The City Budget is a public document available on the city website or a hard copy is available at City Hall.
Steven Hoefs
Please explain your ideas on how the city can address the costs to upgrade its aging infrastructure?
Our aging infrastructure has been an ongoing topic that clearly needs to be addressed with concrete, data driven solutions with specific timelines in place for project completion. In order to address these needs, we need to seek out all available sources of revenue in order to fund them.
We need to be mindful of our unique challenges, yet also of our unique benefits in order to accomplish this task. The most creative options will include accessing grants that are designed for communities of our size and parameters, as well as seeking opportunities to become innovators in technology as a prototype and model for the most cutting edge companies who are looking for sample communities to prove their effectiveness in a remote location.
These opportunities will help offset the cost of upgrades, while keeping us on the cutting edge of the most environmentally friendly and sustainable options. Additionally, we will need to generate additional revenue. There are two sources for this, impact development fees and increased revenue from tourism, TOT, admissions tax and wharfage fees. Currently we are in the process of evaluating and refining our developmental impact fees which will directly go into sewer, salt, and infrastructure funds. In order to increase revenue from tourism and the fees stated above, we will need to bring more events in the off season and find opportunities to bring new demographics to the island.
Where we may be seeing a decline in certain demographics visiting, we need to constantly be mindful of maintaining our current visitors and finding new opportunities for people to visit the island and enjoy all it has to offer.
