Draft budget fully funds organizations

Green River’s draft budget calls on the city fully funding requests made by community organizations, should the budget remain unchanged when the city council adopts it next month.

The city’s fiscal year starts July 1 and ends June 30. The council is in the process of revising the budget. The council appears poised to approve the requests, as meetings to allow representatives of those organizations to speak with the Council in person have been cancelled.

“We’re in a much better position than we were last year,” Mayor Pete Rust said.

Rust said the city’s finance committee continues discussing portions of the budget, but believes it is close to being finalized. The city has received increased sales tax revenues during the past several months, which allowed the council to increase its current budget earlier this year.

According to the draft, the budget includes $111,760 in requests from organizations like STAR Transit, Golden Hour Senior Center and Climb Wyoming. Last year, the requests totaled $88,260. The largest request comes from Star Transit, which seeks $22,520 in funding. The amount is an increase from the $20,000 the group received last year. Golden Hour is set to receive an increase in its allotment as well. The center will receive$18,000 during the next fiscal year, up from $14,400 paid last year. Flaming Gorge Days will also receive more funding and are set to receive $15,000 -- an increase of $5,000 from the previous year. Other organizations have requested the same amount as they had last year and are set to receive it. Climb Wyoming will receive $5,000 under the draft budget, the same amount it was paid last year.The Green River Food Bank is set to receive the same $14,400 it requested last year.

The draft also calls for other commitments to be funded. Should the draft pass unchanged, the city will spend $15,000 for the yearly July 4 fireworks display, up from $10,000 last year. The city’s 50-50 sidewalk program is also set to receive some funding. The draft budget calls for $20,000 in funding for the program, which helps residents pay for sidewalk replacements by offering to split the cost with a home owner. The city’s art council is set to receive an increase in its allocation as well, with the draft calling to fund the group $36,500, a $11,400 increase over last year’s allocation.

 

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