City builds interactive budget platform

SANDPOINT — Unlike recent years, Sandpoint’s 2021 budget has been designed by city staff to provide a fully immersive and interactive online platform for community members. The virtual document went live on June 17 and takes website visitors through past and present city initiatives and expenditures.

“It’s much more visually appealing,” City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton said. “I think it will be easier for the council and the public.”

The website has a table of contents and includes budget subsections as well as a glossary and policies page. Traditionally Sandpoint presents the annual budget information as line items to the city council, a federal requirement. However, the city website has compiled information and deducted spending trends by using interactive charts.

The interactive budget book also includes information about city staff, general statistics, project updates and more. By providing an all-encompassing landing strip for community members, Stapleton hopes residents will have a better understanding and be more informed on local finances.

At the June 15 meeting city council approved the maximum budget of $34,601,714, which is a 12-percent decrease or $4.7 million decrease from last year. Stapleton said reductions in the budget were likely due to the one percent sales tax that ends Dec. 31.

“In next year’s budget there is three months of revenue accounted for, where the last five years we’ve seen a full 12 months budgeted for that local option tax,” Stapleton said.

In recent years the city has seen peaks and sunsets in the annual budget, which Stapleton said has largely been due to capital improvement projects such as the Downtown Revitalization Project. The city plans to hold off on phase three of the Downtown Revitalization Project for two to three years, to help offset budget expenses.

Another factor, Stapleton said, is that sewer treatment plant upgrades were lower this year than in previous years.

“When you are seeing these big swings in budgets it’s usually due to capital projects and it’s usually due to leveraging outside dollars, so grant dollars or in our case the local option tax and SURA funding,” she said.

The first budget workshop took place on July 22, where councilmembers discussed performance measures and staffing. The next budget workshop will take place on July 29 at 5:30 p.m. where city officials will talk about master planning efforts and how those efforts will fit into the Fiscal Year 2021 budget. A third workshop is to be determined and would occur prior to the budget hearing on Aug. 19.

For more information on Sandpoint’s 2021 budget visit https://stories.opengov.com/sandpointid/published/bjTJev8e3.

Aly De Angelus can be reached by email at adeangelus@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @AlyDailyBee.