Orem officials are cautiously optimistic halfway through the fiscal year with a budget that's encouraging growth after years of disappointment.

Administrative Services Director Jeff Pedersen said the most encouraging signs are that revenues are on par with predictions and the unpredictably high gas prices in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita haven't busted the budget.

"We anticipated we would have some trouble with those, but not enough for us to panic," he said.

They've left the panic of the last several years behind, when a burgeoning economy resulted in unfilled positions because of lack of money, and a half-million-dollar shortfall in sales tax revenue one year.

Now, with the strengthening economy, the Midtown Village project on State Street and sales tax revenues, those positions are slowly getting filled and capital improvement projects are getting done.

Pedersen said the budget included funding for a police captain, a law clerk, some library positions, a computer programmer and a public works laborer.

Future budgets should also include more positions as the money is available to fund them.

Library Director Louise Wallace is one of the beneficiaries of the recovering economy. A $1.9 million renovation is in the planning stages and should be starting in late spring or early summer. The project includes replacing lighting fixtures, ceiling tiles and carpet and remodeling the bathrooms. Most of the features have been around since the library's construction in 1970, so they need the fixes, she said.

Workers will also be doing an earthquake retrofit on some of the walls -- digging down to the building's foundation and building it up with steel reinforcements.

"It's a very noisy process, a very messy process, but in the end it's going to make a great difference," Wallace said.

Her biggest concern is the library patrons and how the renovations will affect access to the library.

"We don't know at this point how the construction will affect service to the public," she said, adding she wouldn't know until the city selected a contractor. "We're anxious to know what their approach will be, so we can plan."

Public Works Director Bruce Chesnut is seeing some renovations in the parks, but nothing quite as major, through this budget. The biggest project is building a stormwater detention basin in Bonneville Park, enlarging the park area and adding grass. Other city parks are getting minor makeovers, including pavilions and bathroom rehabilitation and upkeep.

Pedersen said he is pleased with the progress thus far, although as property taxes start coming in those will affect the city's revenue.

"We're looking cautiously at each year with a very bright position for the moment," he said.

Heidi Toth can be reached at 344-2543 or htoth@heraldextra.com.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B1.