Renovating State Street and expanding the library move to the top of Orem's priority list with the adoption of a $31.9 million budget for 1992-93.

The budget includes $558,000 to help redo sidewalks, sewers and water lines along a portion of State Street next year when the Utah Department of Transportation begins the first of four phases of rebuilding the road. The council trimmed and jiggled the budget in various places to come up with money for the project.That included: not hiring a fire prevention officer, a part-time recorder or a parks worker; slashing the council's travel and contingency funds; delaying hiring new employees for three months; and diverting a portion of money set aside to improve Sandhill Road.

Residents will also pay a new $1-a-month storm-water fee beginning in July. Half of the money raised by the new fee will go into the kitty for State Street work. The rest will pay for improvements to two canals that carry storm runoff.

City employees, in a sense, are also doing their part to improve State Street.

The council eliminated a 2.5 percent pay increase for the city's nine directors and reduced the pay increase to 2 percent for other employees. The money saved will be put in the State Street improvement fund.

Orem will spend approximately $5 million over the next several years to replace infrastructure running the length of State Street, dovetailing the work with reconstruction of the street. The city began saving money for the project several years ago.

The budget also moves a bigger, better library closer to reality. The council agreed as part of the budget to issue $3.9 million in bonds to expand the library.

Residents can thank the Friends of the Library for making the expanded library possible now and without a tax increase. The Friends raised $500,000 that will cover bond payments for three years. Money now used to pay for the Fitness Center bond, scheduled to be paid off in 1997, will cover the library bond eventually.

The city will have to bridge the two-year gap between the two payment sources.

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Budget highlights

- The city's franchise tax remains 5.36 percent.

- The certified property tax rate will decrease slightly, from 0.002397 to 0.002039.

- The city will hire 71/2 new employees: a part-time clerk, two patrol officers, three firefighters, a secretary for Public Works, a library clerk and a pre-treatment inspector for the sewer division.

- The city has budgeted about $262,000 to begin improvement of Sandhill Road.

- Residents will pay a new $1-a-month storm-water fee.

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- Residents who need ambulance transportation will pay more. The council more than doubled the fee to $288, plus $5.50 per mile.

- The city will spend $3,900 to install 23 street lights at major intersections.

- Fees for some recreation programs will go up.

- The city's nine executive directors' salaries are frozen for one year. Other city staff will get a 2 percent cost-of-living increase.

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