AURORA | Aurora has about $7.4 million in unanticipated tax revenue that could be spent on projects related to the Interstate 225 FasTracks light rail project, according to budget figures.
Aurora City Council members will talk about which projects to fund at their spring workshop meeting April 20.
There are more than 15 projects on the city’s I-225 light rail line-related unfunded-needs list, according to city documents. Those projects include Transit-Oriented Development marketing, Colfax station bridge art, restrooms at the Peoria/Smith Station, Nine Mile pedestrian bridge and parking signage.
The Regional Transportation District and the Denver Regional Council of Governments could help pay for some of the projects on Aurora’s list, but the city would have to find money to pay for roughly half of their own projects.
The extra money comes from the 2012 operating reserve fund balance, which ended up being $7.4 million above the city’s original projections. The operating reserve is part of the General Fund and typically saved for emergencies or to cover unforeseen events like economic recessions and the July 20 theater shooting, said Jason Batchelor, the city’s finance director.
The total operating reserve for 2013 is about $13 million, much higher than the city’s annual operating reserve of between $2.5 million and $7.5 million.
“Revenues came in above where we projected,” Batchelor said. Much of that is due to sales tax revenues from auto sales, which have been booming since last year. Aurora residents continue to replace cars or purchase cars at a high rate. Batchelor said last year that might be because during the recession, some people held back on replacing a car or buying a car.