Economic Development Fund

The Economic Development Fund is used to account for the revenue from the half-cent sales tax. Voters approved the half-cent sales tax on May 6, 1995, and collection of the tax began in October 1995. As specified on the ballot,the use of this revenue is limited to payment of the costs of land, building, equipment, facilities, improvements and maintenance, and operation costs for public park purposes, recreational facilities to be used for sports and entertainment, and for infrastructure improvements for development of new or expanded business enterprises.

Since its approval, the half-cent sales tax (Economic Development Fund) has provided funding for a variety of projects, including the City’s outdoor pool, Recreation Center, Civic Center, Youth Sportsplex and the Wilderness Golf Course. There were no projects proposed for FY 20-21 due to the pandemic. However, the half-cent sales tax has previously been approved to provide funding for the Downtown Revitalization Project, and Phase 3 design was concluded in FY 20-21 with construction set to begin at the end of the year.

In FY 21-22, a substantial number of projects have been proposed by staff as no projects were completed in FY 20-21 and certain infrastructure and amenities are requiring maintenance or replacement to remain operational. These new projects are (previously approved projects are not included on this chart):