Budget and Finance Committee reviews year-end and January finances; ERP migration set for March 18

The Budget and Finance Committee on Feb. 17 heard year-end 2024 and January 2025 financial reports from Miss Patel, a city staff member, who presented fund balances, investment placements and ARPA cash positions and told the committee the city will switch its ERP system from Eden to Munis on March 18.

The reports showed several fund-level figures presented by Patel. She told the committee the city closed the year with general fund revenues around $151,552,000 and cited $145,619,000 in leading contributor revenues (92% of a cited $157,000,000 figure). Premium-pay expenditures for public safety were listed as $2,700,000 for police, $3,300,000 for fire and $860,000 for EMS. Patel said the general fund year-end cash position included approximately $36.5 million invested with the Pennsylvania Local Government Investment Trust (PLGIT), with about $30 million placed in term investments and roughly $6.5 million in money-market accounts yielding about 4.69% APY. TD Bank liquid balances for the general fund were reported near $4.5 million at about 3.5% APY.

Patel reported the citys ARPA cash position closed the year at about $22.4 million, with roughly $18.9 million with PLGIT (about $15 million in term investments and $3.9 million in money market accounts) and a TD Bank cash balance of about $3.4 million for vendor payments. For January, Patel reported the ARPA cash position at about $20.5 million, with $18.9 million with PLGIT and $1.6 million in TD Bank liquid assets.

Other funds Patel summarized included a solid waste fund showing modest revenue strength (about 2%) with expenditures reflecting roughly 5% savings, a stormwater fund with revenues stronger by about 3% and expenditures saving about 8%, and a golf fund that closed the year with revenues stronger by approximately 3% and lower expenditures. Patel also noted a new building code fund has been created to separate building-standards and safety fees and receipts for clearer reporting.

Committee members asked whether the December figures were final; Patel said one final 2024 vendor payment would post at the end of the week and a final report would be provided the following month. Patel also noted the quarter 4 capital projects report had been circulated, showing fourth-quarter expenditures of about $1.5 million with $7.0 million encumbered for future capital spending, and that department-level capital project status reports were available for discussion at individual committee meetings.

On systems and implementation, Patel said city IT and project staff, including "Jerry" and IT department representatives, are implementing an ERP migration from Eden to Munis with a projected go-live date of March 18. She said Eden will no longer be functional after the transition but that the historical data will remain available for queries. Patel also said the city plans to implement payroll and human-resources modules in Munis later in the year and projects those two modules to be live by year end.

No formal motions or votes were recorded during the committee meeting. Committee participants asked clarifying questions about timing and finalization of the December close and about capital project encumbrances; Patel provided the clarifications described above.

The committee adjourned after the presentation and a brief question-and-answer period.