Coupeville Town Council held the first of two hearings on its proposed $8-million budget Tuesday evening.
“This budget reflects our desire to continue to serve our residents with excellent customer service and fiscal responsibility,” said Mayor Molly Hughes.
“This budget also reflects a commitment to maintenance and upgrades to our town’s critical infrastructure.”
The draft 2018 budget is available for review online at www.townofcoupeville.org. The final hearing will be during the regular Nov. 28 council meeting.
“Last year was all about getting our staffing level up to the necessary levels to accomplish the work that must be done in the town,” Hughes said.
“Departments were reorganized, some job descriptions were fine-tuned and much of our time was spent finding, hiring and training the right people for the job.”
The proposed 2018 budget reflects the staffing levels that were authorized by the town council last year, and no new positions are being proposed for the coming year.
Within the proposed budget, the largest item under the general fund is more than $500,000 for law enforcement.
The town is renewing its contract with the Island County Sheriff’s Office for police services and will continue to have two full-time officers dedicated to the town.
Some major projects budgeted for the town in 2018 include $256,000 in grant funds dedicated for street overlays and repairs as well as the $255,000 in rural economic development grant funds for work on the Community Green project.
The town will spend an additional $130,000 to build a new public restroom in the municipal parking lot.
More than $1.4 million is budgeted for capital improvement projects for the water system.
Some of the projects include rehabilitating wells and reservoir repairs.
The town also budgeted for some upgrades to the sewer department, including $110,000 to upgrade the headworks and blowers in the treatment plant as well as line replacements.
The town also anticipates completing the stormwater project on Front Street.
Reserve funds are also being set aside for maintenance and upgrades to town buildings, such as the town shop, town hall and rec hall.
