Clear Lake Shores adopts fiscal year 2020-21 budget

Clear Lake Shores City Council approved the city’s fiscal year 2020-21 budget, which is projected to be nearly $2 million higher than the budget from last fiscal year, during a Sept. 1 regular meeting.

The city’s fiscal year begins Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30, 2021. More than half of the $6.3 million in the total budget is for the city’s general fund, according to data presented by city officials.

The city’s general fund, which is estimated to be at $3.8 million as of Oct. 1, includes projected revenue from mixed-drink sales and sales tax—$38,500 and $1.75 million, respectively. Clear Lake Shores does not collect property taxes.

The city expects to gain approximately $500,000 in revenue from police fees and fines. The remaining $1.5 million in projected revenue is split between licensing and permit fees, waterfront fees, rental income and pool membership fees.

Apart from the general fund, another $560,000 of expected sales tax revenue is split evenly between the roads and drainage and economic development funds. Total sales tax revenue is projected at $2.3 million, which accounts for about 28% of the total budget.

The FY 2019-20 budget was $4.4 million, roughly the same as the FY 2018-19 budget of $4.5 million. The budget for FY 2019-20 included $2.64 million for operations and capital projects and about $1.8 million in a “rainy day fund,” City Administrator Brent Spier said.

According to 2019 population estimates released in May by the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of Clear Lake Shores is the highest it has been since 2010 at 1,215 people. The overall population in the city has fluctuated between 1,050 and 1,250 in the last decade.