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Newport finance director reports $5.66 million on hand; council forgives cemetery interfund balance
Summary
Finance director Chip Stearns reported improved cash balances, recent tax collections and fund-level details; council approved a one-time forgiveness transferring $23,005.39 from the general fund to clear a lingering East Main Street Cemetery due-to/due-from balance and discussed capital purchases including a recently ordered vacuum/back-of-truck.
Finance director Chip Stearns presented an extended review of Newport’s balance sheets on May 18, telling council that ‘‘the current balance in the bank is $5,666,000’’ and explaining how seasonal tax collections and accounting treatments affect reported fund balances.
Stearns walked the council through each fund: general fund liquidity, water and sewer receivables and due-to/from adjustments, CDBG receivables recorded as long-term notes, and project or reserve accounts such as the Walmart Reserve and a newly recorded Glen Road escrow. He said delinquent current-year taxes totaled roughly $771,000 (about $980,000 in total delinquent principal) and described upcoming tax-notice steps and the expectation that additional collections and scheduled water/sewer billings will improve cash in the next six weeks.
The council acted on a financial-task-force recommendation to forgive a persistent interfund balance in the East Main Street Cemetery Fund of $23,005.39 by transferring the amount from a general-fund expense account. Councilmember Carter Finnegan moved the transfer; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. Chip Stearns described the entry as a bookkeeping decision to clear a longstanding due-to/due-from item that staff and the financial task force could not trace to an accountable source.
Councilors and residents questioned capital-spending choices, including a recently ordered municipal vacuum/back-of-truck (the check reportedly was cut for approximately $628,000 and divided proportionally across general, water and sewer funds). Stearns explained the vehicle’s cost allocation (one-third charged to each of general, water and sewer) and said the purchase was made without borrowing.
Multiple residents pressed officials about water and sewer rate impacts, capital-expenditure pacing, and whether excess accruals had been used to fund unbudgeted capital. Stearns and the mayor emphasized that the budget figures shown were snapshots in time and that final audit adjustments and capitalization at year-end would change reported surpluses or deficits. The Water and Sewer Task Force will continue to monitor usage and rates and report quarterly to the council.
The council also discussed a $131,000 federal Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG) award that will reimburse preliminary downtown master-plan expenses and replenish city coffers for earlier outlays related to economic development work; the mayor described the funding as a significant reimbursement that will arrive when NDD and city staff submit the first reimbursement request.
