Town of Lovell trims budget for third straight year

For the third consecutive year, the Lovell Town Council has approved a budget that is down from the previous fiscal year.

The council on June 19 approved on third reading Ordinance 1034, establishing the annual appropriation – budget – for the fiscal year that began July 1, 2026, and runs through June 30, 2027. The budget for the new fiscal year is $4,291,776, down from $4,347,804 in 2025-26, $4,711,855 for 2024-25 and from $4,851,011 in 2023-24.

On the revenue side of the budget, the town is budgeting $2,505,920 for the general fund, up from $2,423,020 a year ago but cautiously down from actual revenue of $2,753,206. The town budgeted $132,000 for property tax and received $200,346 but budgeted $132,000 again for the current fiscal year.

Town clerk/treasurer Colleen Tippetts said revenue numbers from the ’25-26 fiscal year were a mixed bag, noting that the town anticipated less property tax revenue but received more vehicle tax revenue.

“Property tax was supposed to be cut, and it actually was cut, but it doesn’t look like it because the money we receive from the county gets lumped under property tax. It has vehicle taxes in there, also, and that came in really high this year for whatever reason,” Tippetts said.

The budget is conservative in its estimates across various revenue accounts. The town budgeted $556,000 in state sales tax and received $668,386 and ticked the new budget up to $611,000. Similarly, the town budgeted $480,000 for county option sales tax, received $573,886 and set the new budget at $550,000.

“I want to stay on the conservative side, because if the revenues don’t come in, then you’re in trouble,” Tippetts said.

The town budgeted $470,000 for the state supplemental funding distribution, received $477,508 and lowered the budget for ’26-27 to $440,000, and the town budgeted $127,000 in gasoline tax distribution, received just $63,903 and set the new budget at $63,000. Tippetts said the $127,000 figure was a clerical error last year, and the budget should have been $62,000 for the gas tax revenue budget last year.

Most other budgeted revenue line items remain about the same.

The town has had mostly steady revenue over the years, but Tippetts worries about future revenues if a ballot initiative to cut property taxes by 50 percent passes.

“That makes me nervous,” she said.” Because you never know.”

Budget breakdown

On the expenditure side of the General Fund budget, the town has budgeted $2,495,559, up slightly from $2,419,560 a year ago. In the administration category, salaries are budgeted at $213,454, down from $222,822 in the previous budget and actual expenditures of $183,357.

The new administration budget includes $10,000 for economic development, $14,000 for area promotion and development and $5,000 for the tourist information center. The budget transfers $30,350 to capital improvement: $30,000 for the Foster Gulch Golf Course and $350 for Veterans Park flags.

The total administration budget is $519,007, down slightly from $519,487 a year ago.

The Police and Fire budget is set at $1,416,532, up from $1,344,062 and actual expenditures of $1,394,719. The salaries line item is $697,667, up from $685,694, with the accompanying retirement and health insurance line items up, as well. The budget includes $22,000 for incentive pay, $86,300 for computer software and maintenance, $20,000 for training and travel and $25,000 for vehicle maintenance and service, up from $15,000 a year ago.

Having been trimmed to $199,874 in ’25-26, the Street and Alleys budget has increased to $202,782. Salaries are up slightly to $56,113, but retirement is down about $5,000 to $11,490. The budgeted cost of electricity has jumped from $22,800 to $27,000. The budget lists $7,000 for maintenance and service including $1,500 for the loader replacement program. The street repair budget is set at $25,000 including $15,000 for crack sealing.

The budget for Christmas decorations has increased from $1,000 to $3,000.

Mosquito control has a budget of $14,257, down from $20,057, mostly due to salaries, which have decreased from $11,030 to $6,211.

The Parks and Recreation budget is down a bit from $313,823 to $307,297, in large part due to the fact that the line item for swimming pool expense has decreased from $25,000 to $10,000 since the pool at the high school remains closed.

The budget includes $5,692 for security cameras in the parks, $2,500 for new rose bushes, $28,000 for the playground at Great Western Park and $1,300 for gates at Armory Park.

For the community center, the budget is pretty flat at $35,685, up from $32,253 in ’25-26.

The budgets for other town departments are as follows:

• Capital Improvements Fund -- $30,350, down from $55,350 on the revenue side and $55,849 in expenditures. The fund includes the aforementioned budget for the golf course and Veterans Park.

• Construction Fund – Zero, due to the Phase 2 of the Constitution Park Project having wrapped up.

• Lodging Tax Fund – $25,000, down slightly from $26,650 in ’25-26, though revenue is budgeted at $26,650.

• CDBG Loan Fund – Zero.

• Garbage Fund -- $438,373, down from $450,285 the previous fiscal year. The budget includes $1,500 for the loader replacement program but no money for new receptacles. The revenue budget is $501,500, with actual revenue in ’25-26 of $529,120. 

• Sewer Fund -- $460,798, up from $427,271 a year ago and $393,210 in actual expenditures. Revenue is budgeted this year at $461,000 after actual revenue of $445,014.

The debt service fund for the payoff on the bonds for the water and sewer infrastructure project remains steady at $250,000, and the budget includes $1,500 toward the loader replacement program, $18,000 for land drain maintenance and $10,000 for protective trench boxes.

Water Fund – $841,696, up from $814,909 a year ago and actual spending of $778,392. The revenue budget is $981,080, with actual revenue coming in at $998,065. Salaries and related expenses are up by about $10,000 in the new budget, but most other line items are relatively flat. Equipment purchasing has fallen from 16,000 to $10,000 for trench boxes, split with the Sewer Fund budget.

The budget includes $1,500 toward the loader replacement program and $250,000 for the debt service fund.