Better revenues improve Cheney's budget

A healthier than usual revenue stream helped change Cheney’s general fund budgeting process from one centered on cutting to one with the actual hope of planning for the future, leading it to be voted the No. 3 top news story of 2016.

While the city isn’t flush with cash by any stretch, improvements in property tax distributions and sales taxes from increasing construction led officials to feel better about spending in 2017. Updated figures were not available at press time, but through September the city had received 56.54 percent of its projected $1.9 million 2016 property taxes and 79 percent...