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Finance staff outlines budget amendment, seeks fund-balance appropriation; water, sewer and rental accounts reported favorable
Summary
City finance staff told council general fund revenues lagged earlier estimates and proposed a fund-balance appropriation to cover short-term variances; enterprise funds such as water, sewer and sanitation reported favorable results in the presenter's review.
City finance staff told the Whiteville City Council that general fund revenues were roughly $514,000 below earlier estimates and presented a proposed first budget amendment that would use fund-balance appropriation to smooth near-term variances, the presenter said.
The presenter said forecasted revenues are about $514,000 lower than previous estimates and that offsetting expense reductions put current variances close to $519,004. He highlighted two specific items driving the request: a roughly $50,000 increase in the workers' compensation insurance premium and about $72,000 in open purchase orders that will hit the general fund.
"So we're offering roughly around $10,000 at this point," the presenter said while describing multiple small adjustments and rounding. He said city staff is asking for a fund-balance appropriation the presenter described verbally as "about 1.60"; staff characterized the requested appropriation as a contingency that would roll back into fund balance if unused.
Enterprise funds were described as performing well. The presenter said the sewer fund showed favorable revenue and expense performance, sanitation showed strong revenue performance and the water fund had an overrun in both revenues and expenditures of roughly $31,000 each, producing an approximately $62,000 positive contribution margin compared with budget assumptions. The presenter also noted nearly $66,000 in rental income from a city property and a transfer request of $27,000 related to that fund.
The presenter told council that a new Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) pronouncement on accounting for compensated absences (referenced in the meeting as "GAAP 101") will require additional work to implement. He also said the timing of property-tax information has been a forecasting challenge and that staff expects to have more accurate tax-roll data by July 1 next year, which should improve next-year budgeting.
The council approved the meeting minutes at the start of the session by voice vote; the transcript records an "aye" call and the chair declaring the minutes approved.
