City cautious about tax revenue

The next three months will be very telling as far as what the City of Green River’s budget will look like.

Finance Director Chris Meats said the year-to-date average for the city’s sales tax revenue is down 22 percent from prior years, resulting in the city sitting at about 6 percent under their budget for the year.

“The outlook is not, unfortunately, great,” Meats said.

Meats said the fiscal outlook from the state also suggests revenues will continue downward. However, one silver lining to that outlook is the state should not experience the severe drops which occurred last year. Despite that, economists believe the state’s economy will continue in its current trajectory for the next two or three years.

Meats said the city expects to see a decline of between 5-10 percent during the year, but said the next few months will give the city a good look at how they will have to proceed. November through January are typically strong sales tax-generating months as a result of holiday spending. If the city receives $850,000-$900,000 during those few months, it could mean fewer reductions in city spending.

“The next three months will give us a good picture of where we’re headed,” Meats said.

City Administrator Reed Clevenger said the city set up a budgetary cushion in their 2016-2017 budget, but low revenues during the first five months have eaten into that cushion. July was the worst month for tax revenue the city experienced since 2003. Clevenger said the city has held off on hiring some of its open positions as they see what the next few months bring in revenues. However, Clevenger believes another low month like July would impact not only the next six months, but the budget for the next year.