"It's just the reality of the times," said Mayor Jose Abeyta. "We can only spend what we have, we can't spend what we don't have."
City Council, absent of council members Erica Lewis Kennedy and Kathy Ellis, were given the city's quarterly financial report Thursday during the work session.
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City Finance Director Shani Wittenberg said some cuts are coming from the operational budget, including police officer uniforms and the hiring of seasonal park workers.
March's auto use tax was down double from February, and was 41.1 percent below last year's numbers. Construction tax was also down 78.7 percent in March over 2008 collections. The total construction tax collected in March was only $11,997 compared to $56,317 collected in March 2008 and $17,423 collected in February of this year.
Retail sales showed some promise, as it was down only 5.7 percent. It had been down around 7 percent.
Abeyta said he hopes the hard months are over, however, other council members weren't so sure. With the upcoming event, The Moving Wall, coming to Montrose, Abeyta is optimistic that May's numbers will be indicative that such events can help.
Council moved quickly through the other agenda items — the regular meeting lasted about 15 minutes.
Council was awarded the 20 Year Tree City USA award for its involvement in the program. Only 99 cities in Colorado are part of the program; 44 have been with it more than 20 years.
Within those 99 communities, only 10 have received growth awards, and Montrose has received several for its work in Cerise Park, Arbor Day contests and tree-planting events. Growth awards are given to communities that go beyond the basic scope of the program.
City council approved the second reading of Ordinance 2220, the city's noise ordinance, which added house-to-house noise as part of its wording.
The city also approved ordinance 2221, which amends the Municipal Code for the purpose of providing local preference in the purchasing regulations.
Contact Kati O'Hare via e-mail at katio@montrosepress.com
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