MORGANTOWN — Even as budget discussions go, Tuesday’s public debut of the city of Morgantown’s draft 2024 spending plan was pretty uneventful.
Finance Director Kevin Tennant explained the projected $43,031,447 general fund budget is up less than 1% over the city’s amended current year numbers.
One area that stands out, however, is the performance of the city’s municipal sales tax, which is expected to generate $9,560,000 in the upcoming fiscal year, or 22% of the city’s overall revenue.
That number looks to be in line with the 2022 and 2023 collections.
“So sales tax has been better than expected,” Tennant said. “It has flattened out over the last few quarters, but again, it’s really been a benefit to the city.”
In FY 2021, the tax exceeded the city’s expectations by more than $2 million, bringing in $5,457,045 despite only being in place part of the year. In its first full year, FY 2022, the city expected $6 million and brought in $9,541,906. The city planned for $8.8 in the current fiscal year, but Tennant said that number will likely be closer to $9.6 million.
Sales tax revenues are split evenly four ways between the city’s general, retirement and capital escrow funds and BOPARC.
As for general business and occupation, or B&O taxes, Tennant said the city has fully returned to pre-COVID numbers and could even approach an all-time high in the range of $14.2 million.
That rise will likely be tempered by a “bottoming out” of the B&O construction taxes, which are expected to generate just $500,000 in FY 2024.
B&O construction taxes are generated by construction projects of more than $5 million and used by the city to fund its own one-time capital improvement expenditures. Construction taxes peaked at just over $6 million in the 2021 fiscal year but have been in decline since.
The city anticipates revenues of $4.1 million from its $3 weekly municipal service fee; just over $4.6 million in property taxes and $4.1 million in fire fees.
Tennant said the city is budgeting for a carryover of $5 million from the current fiscal year, but conceded that number is “conservative” and likely low.
The 2024 fiscal year begins July 1. The city’s 2024 general fund budget will be up for first reading at council’s March 7 regular meeting.
In other news from Tuesday’s Morgantown City Council committee of the whole meeting, Engineering and Public Works Director Damien Davis said the city will work with WVU this summer to remove the old bricks from North High Street and pave the failing, patchwork roadway.
Staff Engineer Drew Gatlin said WVU has agreed to excavate the brick, palletize it and give it to the city for use on other projects.
“All we have to do with our contractor is direct them to lay new asphalt, so that is a massive savings for us. This project would never be achievable otherwise and it probably never will be achievable otherwise, unless we get some massive grant to do it in the future,” Gatlin said. “This is basically a once in a lifetime option, I think, for the city to do this.”