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Morganton creates Helene recovery funds, approves capital amendment and moves to close state cash-flow loan
Summary
Council established a Hurricane Helene special revenue fund, approved a capital projects amendment, and authorized an amendment to a state cash-flow loan agreement to enable closing and repayment under revised terms.
MORGANTON — As part of the city’s ongoing response to Hurricane Helene, Morganton city staff and the council took several financing and accounting steps at the June meeting to organize recovery funding and permit timely reimbursements and project payments.
Staff told the council that generally accepted accounting principles require establishing a special revenue fund to capture reimbursements and other Helene-related receipts. The council approved creation of a Helene special revenue fund in the amount of $9,661,199; staff said that fund will receive insurance proceeds, FEMA reimbursements, cash-flow loan proceeds and other revenues related to Helene, and that transfers will be made from the special revenue fund into the Helene Capital Projects Fund to pay project expenditures.
Council also approved a budget amendment to create or increase the Helene Capital Projects Fund by $2,538,465 to cover project costs and to transfer insurance proceeds into capital accounts. Staff described other budget amendments in the general and water funds that did not require appropriation of fund balance.
On a separate but related action, staff presented and the council approved a proposed amendment to the cash-flow loan agreement with the State of North Carolina. Staff said the amendment permits the city to close the loan and repay under the amended terms (rather than repaying immediately), and staff indicated hope that the new language will allow the city to close without further repeated amendments.
Finally, staff introduced a resolution authorizing the city to apply for state revolving fund (SRF) grant funding to study and, potentially, fund a water system interconnection among Morganton, Valdez and Drexel for greater regional resiliency. Staff said the SRF application is due Aug. 1 and that specific project locations and estimated costs would be developed between the meeting and the deadline and returned to council for review.
Each of these measures passed on voice votes.
