Council hears Dec. 2024 financial report: current-year tax collections at $37.5M (56% of budget)

Town finance staff presented the December 2024 financial report to the West Warwick Town Council on Jan. 21, reporting current-year tax collections, prior-year receipts, bank balances and interest earnings.

Current-year taxes: Finance staff reported current-year tax collections of $37,530,663.28, representing 56% of the budgeted amount after two quarters of the fiscal year. The presenter noted that some taxpayers pay annual bills in full when received, which can skew the midyear percentage comparisons.

Prior-year collections and revenues: Prior-year tax collections were reported at $1,287,079, equal to 40% of the budgeted amount; that line was adjusted by $206,334.06 for a 60-day adjustment and was attributed to stronger-than-expected tax collections and higher finance, building and town-clerk revenues.

Expenditures and bank balances: Operating expenditures were reported at 47% of budget, about 3 percentage points below the midyear benchmark of 50%. The civic center showed operating expenditures of $335,132.42 and operating revenues of $274,033.23. The town’s bank balance as of Jan. 13, 2025, was reported as $12,271,091.08.

Interest and ARPA funds: The town earned $9,713.48 in additional interest on $3,000,000 in an interest-bearing sweep account at Citizens Bank. The report also noted $402,699.10 in interest earned on ARPA funds invested at Centerville Bank as of Nov. 2024.

Process: The finance presenter indicated operating departments are generally running on or slightly above budget and that a future budget amendment will reallocate funds for contractual obligations that were signed after the budget was adopted.

No formal council action was taken on the report; the meeting record shows councilors thanked the presenter and moved on to other agenda items.

Speakers quoted or summarized in this story are drawn from the council meeting transcript.