By Janet Perez | Your Valley
The 2021-22 budget for the town of Florence has grown significantly during the past year.
The budget, inclusive of all funds and expenditures, is $65.8 million. The town’s budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year was $47.1 million. That’s a 39.8% increase overall.
“Most of this increase is explained by increased grant funding and Water Infrastructure Finance Authority projects,” said Benjamin Bitter, the town’s Intergovernmental and Communications Manager. “Operational increases were minimal, at only 4.5% compared to last year.”
There are a handful of major water and wastewater projects, dealing with both expansion and renovation. There also are additional funds in the budget for revitalization of downtown buildings, as well as funding for the new roundabouts that will be going in at the intersection of State Route 79 and State Route 287.