Carson City Mayor Lori Bagwell at a Chamber of Commerce event on June 9, 2022.
Photo by Faith Evans.
Carson City is planning to outspend its revenue by $12 million for fiscal year 2023, but that’s with good reason. Mayor Lori Bagwell outlined the city budget at “Coffee and Conversation with the Mayor” at the Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.
“Don’t panic that we’re overspending. … It’s because the real cash came into the system,” she said.
During fiscal year 2021, which ran from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, the city hit the brakes on spending due to the pandemic. The General Fund ending balance came out at 37 percent of expenditures. That far overshoots the city’s goal to keep it at 16 percent of expenditures, which equates to two months’ worth of city expenses, Bagwell said.
So, with money to spare, the city is setting a $217 million budget for all funds expenditures, outpacing $205 million in all funds revenue, Bagwell said.
Some capital projects that are benefitting from funding include a new fire station on Butti Way, maintenance for the Governor’s Field, and new HVAC components for the Community Center.
Bagwell called capital projects the “visible work” of the city budget. Residents can see and track the progress of capital improvements.
All in all, the city spends the most on general government funding, public safety, and utility enterprises.
“I hope that the thing that I can show you today is that (the city budget) is a pie,” Bagwell said, referencing a past “Coffee and Conversation with the Mayor.”
In August 2021, she invited her audience members to come “Spin the Wheel” to decide what to cut from the budget to fund projects like road repairs.
Currently, city street maintenance is funded through the gas tax and a portion of sales taxes. Since 2017, the board of supervisors has dedicated all road repair funding to regional roads, leaving local roads untouched.
Though, Bagwell said that the city tries to make road and capital funding go far with federal grants.
“We’re trying to put projects together that we can bring partners to the table,” she said.
For example, the new fire station on Butti Way is projected to cost the city $1.5 million in 2023, but that funding is being supplemented with $1.9 million in American Rescue Plan funds and $2 million from federal appropriations. The whole project will cost $12 million to build over several years.
“I assure you that your board and your staff in this community work so hard,” Bagwell said. “I’m so proud of the team that works for the betterment of our community.”
