Wilsonville Spokesman Online

Wilsonville budget meetings start April 27

Modest increases made for park improvements, sewer plant, but revenues still declining

• By: Patrick Johnson  
• Published: 4/27/2010 1:56:17 PM

Wilsonville Finance Director Gary Wallis is putting the final touches on the 2010-11 budget so he can get the two-inch thick document out to budget committee members before the April 27 budget meeting.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in Wilsonville City Hall.

With a calculator in hand, Wallis says next year’s budget, which starts July 1, will look much like this year’s budget – small increases and a hold-the-line approach, hopefully without future cuts. City Manager Arlene Loble agrees.

Yet, she opted to reduce the community development department by three people, unable to maintain the positions during the downturn in building. This department largely is funded by the fees developers pay to build new projects.

With the staff reductions, the 2010-11 budget for personnel services will go down by $70,000, but Loble remains optimistic.

“We think it’s coming back,” she said of building projects in the city.

“We are projecting increases in building in Wilsonville, but it’s no where near where it was in its heyday,” Wallis said.

Both said there are a number of projects that demonstrate a slight comeback, but most of it is commercial and industrial projects, including Fred Meyer, Wilsonville Road Business Park and the possible Oregon Institute of Technology’s move to Wilsonville.

“We don’t have this in the budget yet, but Polygon NW, a housing firm that has taken a piece in Villebois, they have already submitted an application for 40 homes,” Loble said.

Wallis said the Polygon project should continue to help the Community Development Department by bringing in more permit revenue.

He cautioned that the numbers are preliminary. At this point, the 2010-11 operating budget is approximately $60 million, up from the $57.8 million in 2009-10 budget. A large part of the increase in the budget comes from a waste water treatment plant debt payment of $1.6 million. This is a proposed payment which has not been finalized.

Wallis also said the 5-percent increase for the police contract – about $150,000 — and a scheduled maintenance at the water treatment plant of $245,000 also contributed to the budget increase.

Some city projects included in this year’s capital improvement budget so far include approximately $500,000 worth of improvements to Memorial Park, start of a new estimated $60 million waste water treatment plant and the $20 million interchange project at Wilsonville Road and Interstate 5.

Copies of the budget will be available at City Hall, the library and at www.ci.wilsonville.or.us.

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