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Stevensville council reviews cash report, separates asset reserves for water and sewer
Summary
Town finance staff told the Stevensville Town Council on Jan. 23 that the town has about $3.12 million in bank accounts, moved major water and sewer reserves into separate asset accounts to meet USDA and reserve requirements, and highlighted a $14,000 debt account tied to the airport that will shrink as payments continue.
Stevensville Town Council members heard a detailed cash- and budget-status report on Jan. 23 as staff explained recent bookkeeping changes that separate capital asset reserves for water and sewer from day-to-day operating funds.
Town staff members Robert Underwood and Gina Crowe presented the report, saying the town’s combined cash on hand is roughly $3.12 million and that mandatory reserves for water and sewer have been moved into distinct asset accounts to make grant matching and project planning clearer. "We moved about $200,000 out of the water fund into the asset account," Underwood said, "so you can see where we sit, how much money we have that we do a project with."
The report matters because separating asset reserves from operating funds affects the town’s ability to identify matching funds for outside grants and to track mandatory reserves required by programs such as USDA loans. Underwood and Crowe said the change improves transparency and will make it easier to determine quickly whether the town can commit matching dollars for grants.
Council members asked questions about account details during the roughly 30-minute discussion. Staff noted one named account—debt account 32311—holds about $14,000 tied to the airport; payments on that account are ongoing and the town expects that balance to decline. The presenters also showed year-to-date spending at about 63 percent for the fiscal year and said some project lines look higher because large projects were billed early in the year. "This is money we have to set aside for any future projects that come up," Underwood said of the new asset accounts.
Staff said the accounting change was made after finalizing internal line items for waterfront, water capital and sewer capital so those mandatory reserves and operating balances are no longer mixed in one pooled number. Presenters gave an example to the council: if the town had $500,000 in an asset account and a grant required a $400,000 match, the separated accounting would make it easier to verify available funds.
No formal action was taken; the item was informational. Councilors did not identify additional immediate spending requests tied to the report. Staff said future budgets will show the changes more clearly and that the separated accounts should reduce confusion for future grant or project decisions.
Councilors present and participating throughout the discussion included Councilor Barker and Councilor Nelson, who asked follow-up questions about prior repairs and account line items. The mayor did not present an executive report for this meeting.
