An unfortunate guessing game has begun in Windsor, where the local government is projecting potentially large reductions in tax revenue resulting from the novel coronavirus pandemic, and are now trying to plan for the fallout.

Why does this matter, and how might this impact us? Well, for the most part, Windsor derives revenue from sales taxes, development fees and severance taxes. So, with most people staying home and businesses shutting their doors, the city is expecting something of a civic shortfall.

According to BizWest, in order to prepare for a possible tough financial spot, Windsor projected “what if” revenue numbers from all their main sources of income based on the assumption that they will all have been reduced by at least 40%, if not more. Based on that data, the city has begun taking steps to minimize the economic damage.

For one, the government has cancelled the football and soccer seasons in an effort to cut some expenses (though it's true this also reduces the amount of incoming revenue) and is not overspending.

However, it is still unclear whether these measures will be enough to protect municipal jobs. Town administrator Shane Hale told BizWest that "he expects people will have jobs at least through April. Given that rehiring can take a month, if the town anticipates that businesses will reopen in June, it may not want to furlough staff in May."

Luckily, the town also has reserves to fall back on, with the general fund reserves amounting to near $15 million.

“The only fund we’ve been spending down is the capital fund as the town deals with streets and traffic issues. If we have a slowdown, we’ll see less activity there.”

New construction in Windsor has also brought in income for the town, particularly from development fees.

Source: BizWest

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