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WARF Remains Drain on Budget
On Tuesday, Warrenton Town Council approved a budget for fiscal year 2010, which begins July 1.
The real estate tax rate will remain the same at 1.5 cents or .015 per $100 of assessed value. General fund expenditures total about $9.5 million.
The bulk of the general fund expenditures (about $7.2 million) are devoted to operational expenses and are down about 4.2 percent from fiscal 2009, when such expenses totaled approximately $7.5 million.
According to budget documents, all departmental budgets are “constantly developed with the town’s guiding principles in mind.” These include keeping Warrenton unique, operating town government as a business and increasing recreational and leisure choices.
For Mayor George Fitch, maintaining fiscal discipline is also key.
“We are one of the few local governments that has [done that],” Fitch said. “We don’t just go out and spend extra money when we have it. We find ways to give it back.”
News that the Warrenton Aquatic and Recreation Facility (WARF) is still operating at a deficit does not come as a surprise to Warrenton officials.
According to Fitch and Town Manager Ken McLawhon, officials have known all along that it generally takes three to four years for facilities like the WARF to break even. The WARF has been open for almost two years.
“I don’t know exactly what the numbers are, but I do know we are running a deficit,” Fitch said on Monday. “I also know it is coming down as we begin to manage expenses and get more customers.”
Catherine Zimmer, assistant director of the town’s parks and recreation department, said the WARF’s average monthly operating expenses total $112,264. Its average monthly income is $67,227.
See the Fauquier Times-Democrat for the complete story...
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