Funding for the Amtrak platform is included in the $16,744,515 budget the De Soto City Council recently approved for the new fiscal year, which began Nov. 1 and runs through Oct. 31, 2025.
“The city has allocated $500,000 to the project, and also included in the budget is the $1 million allocation from the state, as well as the $500,000 allocation from Jefferson County (from its ARPA funds) to assist in us fulfilling our 50/50 match for the state allocation,” De Soto City Manager Todd Melkus said.
Businessman Jim Thomas spearheaded the train platform project, which got approval from Amtrak in August 2023.
Amtrak’s Texas Eagle, which travels between Chicago and San Antonio and uses the Union Pacific railway, would make stops in De Soto once the platform is completed. Currently, the train passes through De Soto at about 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.
The city has estimated that it will cost about $1.7 million to build the enclosed train platform across from the De Soto Public Library.
In September, De Soto City Council entered a contract with Crawford, Murphy & Tilly to help with the design, development and engineering for the project, but no timeline for the project has been established.
“We currently have our agreements with MoDOT and Union Pacific and are waiting for MoDOT to review/approve our contract with Crawford, Murphy & Tilly to start on all of the real estate, (right-of-way), design, etc.,” Melkus said.
The budget
According to the new budget, the city will bring in $16,056,128 in revenue, resulting in $688,387 in deficit spending.
“The only reason we are in the red at all is because we have a substantial project at the wastewater plant, which is over $1 million, for new parts for the clarifier system,” Melkus said. “So all of the other funds, general fund, park fund, etc. we’re going to be adding to the reserves of those funds, but the wastewater fund is what is taking the hit this year.
“This is our last big project out there. We should be good for a number of years after this.”
The city is starting off the fiscal year with $1,789,307 in reserves in the Water/Sewer/Wastewater Treatment Fund and anticipates ending the year with reserves at $1,076,200.
Councilman Rich McCane noted that the city will pay off the water tower project on Boyd Street within the next 12 months.
The water tower was built in 2016 at a cost of $1,471,000, Melkus said.
Melkus said the city will make a final payment of $135,807 on the Boyd Street water tower in 2025. Up until that payment, the annual payments on the water tower were $292,345.
“So our goal is to start adding to the reserves for the water and wastewater fund in the near future,” Melkus told the council. “Hopefully we don’t have any big disasters we have to repair and we can start building up those reserves again.”
Melkus said the city’s general fund reserves are in good shape, adding that he expects to begin the fiscal year with $7,186,465 in general fund reserves and close the year with $7,294,786.
“I feel that the majority of our reserve funds are in good shape,” Melkus said. “Our general reserve fund has almost tripled since 2020, and we have been adding to our other funds as well.”
Melkus added that in the 2024 fiscal year, the city rearranged some of its investments and accrued almost $350,000 more in interest.
He said the city brought in $147,426 in sales tax revenue in 2024, a 3.5 percent increase from the previous year.
Melkus told the City Council that the 2025 fiscal year revenue is inflated because the city is receiving $1 million from the state for a water line project on St. Louis Street and more than a half million dollars in ARPA funding for other water projects.
“So even though it shows as $16 million, that’s more of an inflated number than the actual general fund revenue and wastewater revenue,” he said.
Personnel costs
Melkus said the city’s 54 full-time and four part-time employees will receive a small raise this year.
“All employees are getting a $2,080 raise,” Melkus said.
In addition to the raises, the city approved a one-time salary stipend of $1,500 for each full-time employee that will be awarded this month.
The stipend and raises will cost the city about $288,000.
According to this year’s budget, the city has allocated $4,392,617 for employee salaries and benefits.
Capital improvements
This year’s budget also includes $1,733,137 in capital improvements to be funded by the half-cent Capital Improvement Sales Tax Fund.
Some of those improvements are for the De Soto Fire Department, including $196,420 to refurbish one of its firetrucks.
Fire Chief Tony Ochoa said an engine now used as a heavy rescue truck will be gutted inside and refurbished with new wiring, pump panel, emergency lights, etc., and the plan is to use it as the first firetruck out and then use the pumper truck the department got about a year ago as a reserve.
The department also will receive eight sets of turnout gear at a cost of $77,024, as well as updated tools and equipment.
As discussed at previous meetings, the city will purchase cameras for the City Cemetery due to recent vandalism at a cost of $6,244.
The Police Department will receive three new equipped vehicles at a total cost of $152,200. The department will also receive 12 tasers at a cost of $50,821 and 10 Toughbooks (mobile computers) for police vehicles at a cost of $31,922.
Animal Control will spend $50,000 on kennel expansion, and the Street Department will get two trucks at a cost of $100,000.
Under Park/Stormwater Capital Improvement Fund projects, the basketball courts at Rock Road will get new concrete and goals at an estimated cost of $170,000.
The city has budgeted $150,000 for a City Hall reconfiguration.
“We are looking into improving the layout and functionality of the administrative portion of City Hall and renovating the restrooms located in City Hall,” Melkus said.
Two major road projects are in the budget this year.
“North Main Street Phase 2 is scheduled for construction in 2025 with a budgeted cost of $775,000, and the Clarke Street project is going to be carried over to 2025 as well because they just began the work on it this month, so it will not be completed until next fiscal year. That project has a budgeted cost of $750,000,” Melkus said.
The De Soto City Council voted 4-0 on Oct. 21 to approve the budget. Councilman Todd Mahn was not present at the meeting.
Other De Soto council business
At the same meeting, the council voted 4-0 to award the North Main Street Improvement Phase 2 project to the lowest bidder, Jokerst Paving & Contracting, at a cost of $678,017.20.
Melkus said 80 percent of funds will come from the Missouri Department of Transportation.
He said he does not know when the project will begin.
In May, the council awarded a $645,174 contract to Jokerst for the Clark Street Improvement project, with 75 percent of funds coming from MoDOT.