Comptroller: City revenues stronger than expected; Board of Education deficit still requires fund balance

Comptroller Diane Waldron said Tuesday that Bristol’s general fund revenues are running higher than previously projected while expenditures are being closed out as the fiscal year ends.

Waldron told the joint meeting of the City Council and Board of Finance that assessor audits and current tax collections have produced several hundred thousand dollars more than expected and that building permit and conveyance fees have already exceeded last year’s totals. “My deputy treasurer had given me an estimate of 2.8 through the end of the fiscal year, and I’m really pushing him to…I think you might be trending towards 3,000,000,” she said.

The numbers matter because the board must close the year with balanced books. Waldron said the city is carrying about $4.3 million in outstanding purchase orders, many for contracted work, and that the Board of Education was running a deficit: “On the board of education side…they’re running at a $9,100,000 deficit,” she said, adding that the figure did not include an “excess cost” grant that could reduce that gap when final numbers are posted.

Waldron described the overall picture as “a little bit better news,” noting she now estimates a general fund surplus in the $3 million to $3.5 million range before applying any transfers to cover board of education overspending. She also repeated that the city will likely need to use some fund balance to close the school year.

Council members asked clarifying questions but took no formal action during the report. Mayor Jeffrey Cajano thanked Waldron for the update and acknowledged the continuing need to reconcile outstanding purchase orders and finalize the board of education accounting.

Why it matters: better-than-expected tax and permit receipts improve the city’s ability to cover known deficits but do not remove the need to address the Board of Education shortfall. The council and board of finance will use the updated numbers as they finalize end-of-year accounting and possible transfers.

Waldron said the city will continue closing the fiscal year and final figures will be posted when available; council and finance committee follow-up sessions are expected as staff completes the close-out work.