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Bel Air CFO reports FY2025 finish above projections; general fund, enterprise fund stronger than budgeted
Summary
Chief Financial Officer Terrence Beaman reported the fourth‑quarter financial results, projecting the general fund to end the year about $970,000 above the adopted budget and the enterprise fund about $552,000 above its budget. The new drainage fund showed a positive balance and the debt service fund met obligations.
Terrence Beaman, the city’s chief financial officer, presented the fourth‑quarter financial report at the Nov. 3 council meeting and said Bel Air’s municipal finances closed FY2025 stronger than the adopted budget.
Beaman said the general fund — with an adopted budget of about $29 million — is projected to end the fiscal year at roughly $30.3 million, or about $970,000 over the adopted budget. He attributed the positive variance largely to higher property‑tax collections and sales‑tax receipts, and to expenditure savings from vacant positions (notably in the police department) and lower than budgeted purchases and services.
The enterprise fund (utilities) was projected to finish about $552,000 above budget, with water and wastewater revenues favorable to projections. The newly created drainage fund is projected to finish the year with roughly $524,000 in revenues — a figure that included assessment fees and unbudgeted interest earnings.
Beaman also reviewed the debt service fund where revenues collected matched expectations (about $9.8 million) and noted that the city matured and issued debt during the fiscal year. He said capital improvement updates will appear in the first quarter of FY2026 after the city fills its capital projects director vacancy.
Council members praised the report and noted that the results add to reserve cushions that helped Bel Air weather recent storms. Beaman said some favorable figures were one‑time or timing related and cautioned that trends may shift in FY2026.
