Fairview reports strong revenues through January; general fund and utilities in expected ranges

Town staff presented the financial report for the fiscal year through January at the March 4 Town Council meeting.

"We have our general fund revenues collected through January where, just over $7,300,000 or 58 percent of the annual budget," a finance staff member said, reporting the town was at 33% of budget on general-fund expenditures. The report said the general fund revenue total for the period was $312,845 greater than the prior year.

Staff said property-tax collections were at about 78% for the reporting period and that sales-and-use tax receipts through January totaled $711,000; the presentation also described a larger sales-tax figure representing the town—s full 2% portion (about $1.9 million) that includes December sales. Officials told the council December retail sales were strong and helped reverse two months of declines in November and December.

On utilities, staff reported revenue collections through January of about $3.2 million (32% of the utilities budget), with water revenue up about $362,952 and sewer revenue up about $29,729 compared with the prior year. Expenditures in the utility fund were roughly $2.9 million, or 28% of budget.

Council members asked routine follow-up questions about legal fees, property-tax installment schedules for seniors and delinquent collections; staff noted that some nondepartmental costs (insurance) are paid early in the fiscal year and that explains some variance in spending percentages.

There were no formal budget actions taken at the meeting.