2004 BUDGET - Laserfiche WebLink

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t Revenue Summary Taxes Property Taxes - the property taxes are based on the assessed valuation, as provided by the Boulder County Assessor's Office. The 2004 general operating mill levy was set by the City Council at 5.184 or $1,991,922 in property tax revenue. The City is no longer restricted by TABOR or the 5.5% statutory limitation (see Budget Message). In addition to the general operating mill levy, the voters approved an additional mill levy to pay for debt service payments on the bonds that will be issued for the construction of the new library. The voters approved a mill levy not to exceed 1.581 mills. The debt service mill levy set by the City Council for 2004 is 1.526 and will generate approximately $586,400 in revenue. Sales Tax - The sales tax rate in the City of Louisville is 3.375% and is the largest single source of revenue. This collection is allocated to three funds as follows: Capital Projects Fund The Louisville Municipal Code requires one-third of the 3% sales tax to be allocated to the Capital Projects Fund. The City Council has allocated an additional .395% from new growth revenue for a total of 46.5% of the total sales tax generated from the 3%. Conservation Trust Fund — Land Acquisition Fund This is an additional tax approved by the voters in 1993 of .375%, restricted for open space and open space bond repayment. This tax was to sunset at the end of 2003, however, in November 2002, the voters approved another ten-year extension of this tax. General Fund After calculation of the tax allocated to the Capital Projects Fund, 1.605% of the 3% sales tax is allocated to the General Fund. This translates to 53.5% of the total sales tax generated by the 3%. The total sales tax budget was estimated based on trend analysis of the top sales tax producers. The businesses that opened in 2003 were increased to 39 project a full year of sales tax for 2004. The total sales tax budgeted for 2004 is $9,942,050. Other Taxes - In addition to the property tax revenues and the sales tax revenues discussed above, the City also collects franchise taxes, use taxes on the sale of automobiles, lodging excise taxes and specific ownership taxes. Use taxes on building materials are estimated with the development revenues discussed below. Development Revenue The development revenue is comprised of building permits, plan review fees, universal and trade permits, building materials use taxes, service expansion fees, major thoroughfare fees, residential use taxes, community investment fees, water tap fees, and sewer tap fees. The basic assumptions of new construction, valuations and square footage apply to all. The assumptions are broken down into two segments: residential and commercial. The Planning Department provides the residential estimates, broken down by subdivision, with average valuation and square footage. These are combined to determine an overall average for the next year. The commercial estimates are prepared by the Planning Department, analyzing the various land use and proposed developments. Once the development estimates are determined, various formulas are applied to derive the specific revenue estimates. Total development revenues for all funds for 2004 are budgeted at $1,732,069. Charges for Services Water and Sewer User Fees The water and sewer rates are set in the municipal code. In response to the recent drought conditions in Colorado, effective at the beginning of 2003, the City implemented a new water rate structure that is designed to encourage conservation of water resources throughout the City. The new table rewards those accounts that