Frisco Town Council approved the second reading of resolution that officially adopts the town’s 2023 budget during its meeting Tuesday, Oct. 25. Town staff estimated about $65 million in expenditures and $90.5 million of revenues and reserves, leaving the total ending fund balance for all funds at roughly $25.5 million.

The town also adopted a mill levy of 0.798 mills. It’s the same as last year‘s since it can’t be increased without an election. According to a report from Finance Director Leslie Edwards, the levy is forecast to generate $205,574 in property tax revenues.

“When you look at and see this isn’t even a fraction of a percentage of our actual tax base, we are a sales-tax driven economy here, and not a real estate tax (one),” Mayor Hunter Mortensen said during the Oct. 11 meeting when the first reading of the budget was discussed.

The budget was mainly discussed during the council’s Sept. 27 meeting. During that meeting, officials decided to increase sustainability grants for the Pay-as-you-Throw and universal recycling programs from $40,000 to $98,000. The projected sales tax revenue was also adjusted based upon the August sales tax numbers, resulting in a decrease of $385,000 to 2023’s expected revenue.

“We do have a large sales tax base in grocery. About 25% of our sales tax base is related to grocery, and that is helpful to the town of Frisco and our outlook. We will keep an eye on how sales tax is coming in,” said Edwards on Oct. 11.

Expenditures in 2023 were similarly reduced and capital projects were spread across additional years. However, town staff said some of that has been offset by the addition of $750,000 in site work for Marina Park. Expenses related to the park were transferred to the five-year plan for the capital improvement fund.

The three largest funds at the end of 2023 are the water fund, which has an expected ending balance of roughly $10 million, the $9.3 million general fund and the $3.7 million marina fund. The three largest proposed expenditures are $21.9 million for the general fund, $19.7 million in the capital improvement fund and $13 million in the housing fund.

Budgeted projects include workforce housing on Galena Street, constructing Slopeside Hall at the Frisco Adventure Park and updating the park and the public bathrooms at the visitor information center. The town has also budgeted for items such as a transportation master plan, fiber infrastructure and implementation, and a countywide child care tuition assistance program.

The staff report notes that if there is an economic downturn, the town has a seven-month reserve in the general fund. Additionally, the budget can be modified to trim less-essential items as needed. Some of the budgeted expenses are placeholders pending Town Council approval, including $78,150 to hire an additional police officer to service Frisco Elementary.

“I believe what you see at the end of the day in audited financial statements is usually a number that is much better than we have projected,” Edwards said. “That’s because we budgeted conservatively on revenue, it will probably come in higher. We budgeted conservatively on expenditures, they will probably come in lower. If that is the case, then our fund balance will be much higher.”