and a testament to the careful stewardship exhibited by our elected officials and employees for public funds. There are no new fee increases included in this budget. Over the last six years, Riverton residents have seen no net rate increase in fees and I am proud to continue that trend in this year’s budget.
Due to the COVID‐19 health pandemic, the Salt Lake County Health Department responded by mandating business closures. These orders have significantly impacted our business community as well as the livelihood of all the families employed by local businesses. Although total sales tax projections are estimated to close out the 2019‐2020 fiscal year at approximately $7.9 million, or a 41% increase since 2015, we do expect to see a decline to sales tax revenues in the 2020‐2021 fiscal year due to the pandemic. After much analysis and collaboration with our city manager and administrative services director, our best estimate is that we will see a 5% decline in sales tax revenue. Our city is in a much better position given the makeup of our retail sales tax base than many other cities which are projecting even steeper declines. Over the next six months we will continue to monitor trends and respond accordingly.
In order to support the business community, I have created the Riverton Economic Recovery Initiative. The initiative’s ultimate goal is to get the local economy back on its positive
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