St. Paul working on three-year and five-year budget plans

St. Paul town council will be working on long-term plans while coming up with their 2020 fiscal budget.

After passing an interim budget before 2019, the Town is also putting together three-year operating plans and five-year capital plans.

Mayor Maureen Miller said the Town will finalize the numbers in the coming months, especially what projects they’ll be spending money this year.

“We definitely have discussions that need to come up around capital as well as our operating,” said Miller on The Morning After.

“We’ve been very prudent in our budgeting to date, which we’re thankful for. But coming into this year, of course, we need a three year operating as well as a five-year capital. We definitely have a discussion that’s going to happen around the table.

“It will be great to inform our community what that five-year plan is around our capital budget because they’re always interested in what we’re doing. That’s the stuff they see, they don’t often see the operating that we do day-to-day, but they definitely are aware of the capital.”

Miller said that the tougher economic times were cause to have a longer-term vision for the town’s spending.

“We almost need to make sure that we can stretch out that far and have things sustainable through that period of time. I think it’s just prudent of us to have that long term vision so that we can live within our means,” she said.

Once the Town gets their audited statements in March the 2020 budget will be finalized.