A Message from the Mayor

Mayor’s Message

A 5 year look at the City’s budget and projected finances

One of the most important roles I share with my fellow Council members is to ensure your tax dollars are spent responsibly. The City of Happy Valley receives 15% of local property taxes. Most of the funding the City receives go into dedicated funds.3% for its permanent tax rate for general fund services, 2% for library services, 3% for the voter-passed local option levy that funds parks and recreation services and 7% for the voter-passed local option levy that funds police services. The other 85% of your tax bill goes to other service providers like the North Clackamas School District, Clackamas Fire, Clackamas County and others. As City Council we only control the tax dollars the City receives.

Prior to developing the annual budget, the finance team in Happy Valley prepares a five-year financial outlook. This forecast identifies changes in revenues and expenditures and evaluates areas where service levels can be improved. It also estimates how local growth, and the global economy might impact our operations. All this information helps us develop a more detailed annual budget.

In March, the finance team presented the five-year forecast to City Council including a few key takeaways for each major fund:

• General Fund: The general fund is showing slightly less growth than normal and careful management will be necessary to keep it in a stable position for the next five years. This is largely due to a decrease in revenue from new construction. As a result, earlier this year, the City took careful action steps to reduce costs early, including reducing several positions related to permits and development review. We are hopeful actions such as these will prevent more significant cuts in future years.
• Library Fund: The library district revenue is projected to grow at a much slower rate than other funds. By making adjustments now, including reducing library hours starting in April, we can hopefully correct for that slower growth.
• Public Safety Fund: The City contracts with the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office to provide dedicated police services in Happy Valley. Recent cost increases from the Sheriff’s Office will require to the City to work collaboratively to ensure our ability to maintain service levels for the next five-years. The City Council and I place a significant value on these services and will be looking at every way possible to maintain our levels of police services with the resources we currently have.
• Parks Fund: Parks maintenance and recreation are in a good position. As the City formalizes plans for more parks and open spaces in the next five-years, more analysis will be needed to ensure we continue to maintain parks at the level our residents expect.
• Street Maintenance Fund: This fund is projected to remain steady for the next few years. The City will be keeping a close eye on this fund. At the same time our streets are aging, vehicles are becoming more fuel efficient, leading to potential declines in gas tax dollars. Regardless, the entire City Council is united behind the need to maintain our high pavement quality index

While the 5-year forecast does show some financial concerns over the next few years, by taking a long-term look at trends, we are able identify areas where we can take action. Small steps now, like eliminating a few positions or reducing library hours, can have a greater positive impact long-term. In the meantime, we will continue to fund the services that you have come to expect such as park beautification, road maintenance, community services, code enforcement, recreation programs, public safety services, growth management, permit processing and more.
I appreciate the work of my fellow City Council members and our dedicated staff for ensuring we continue to spend local resources wisely and in a manner that advances our community priorities.

Mayor Ellis