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Whiteville staff report mixed budget picture, present five-year capital plan as ARPA funds are exhausted
Summary
City staff told the Whiteville City Council that revenue is roughly 5.3% unfavorable overall while some operational lines show pockets of favorability; staff also presented a five-year capital prioritization framework and said ARPA funds earmarked for a transfer have been exhausted.
At a Whiteville City Council meeting, a staff member reported that the city’s revenue picture is ‘‘roughly about 5.3% unfavorable,’’ driven primarily by loans and proceeds, while certain operational lines and billing recoveries show pockets of favorability.
The staff member said the city’s revenue-assurance efforts and billing adjustments have produced some positive results — including a projected favorable variance of about $160,000 on Sewell Billing and roughly $41,000 of operational favorability — but that overall projections remain close to break-even and hard to call at this time. The staff member also noted a separate estimate that ‘‘overall, we’re looking at favorability in our revenue roughly around 2.6%,’’ reflecting variation across funds.
The revenue shortfall and fund-by-fund variation matter because the staff member told council a line labeled ‘‘transfer in from ARPA funds fund A’’ has been ‘‘tapped out,’’ meaning there is no remaining ARPA balance to draw for that transfer and any shortfall would have to come from the general fund. The staff member said they are working on a plan to absorb the gap in the general fund but described the situation as ‘‘manageable’’ only if other favorable budget developments occur.
Separately, staff presented a draft five-year capital plan intended to give council context and prioritization for department capital requests. The plan ranks capital items by priority (1 = critical, 2 = useful, 3 = new functionality), includes a grant-eligibility column, and shows a five-year grand total so council can consider moving later-year items forward if funds become available. The staff member said the plan is intended to be a living document that departments update annually.
Council discussion included references to timing and scheduling for budget workshops; no formal vote or appropriation was taken during the segments of the meeting covered in the transcript. The meeting record also includes a remark that council contractors have begun work and that the city has received ‘‘another half a million dollars from the Golden Leaf Foundation.’’
No formal motions or votes on budget amendments or capital appropriations were recorded in the provided transcript segments. Staff said they will continue to refine projections and bring updates to council in subsequent budget workshops.
