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Finance committee: town projects roughly $1M revenue surplus, flags permit shortfall and rising health claims
Summary
Finance staff told the committee the town expects about $1 million more revenue than budgeted for the year, driven by a larger-than-expected education grant and higher permit and fire-safety receipts, while building permits lag and health-insurance claims are up 19% year-over-year.
The Town Council Finance Committee reviewed third-quarter financial statements on June 1 and was told the town now expects to end the fiscal year with roughly $1 million more revenue than it budgeted.
"We had 11.7 million budgeted for our education assistance grant. We are in fact going to receive 13.1 million," Amanda said, summarizing a $1.4 million positive variance on that line. She added that overall revenues were at 90.2% of expected receipts through March 31.
Amanda pointed to two notable line-item swings: fire-safety permit receipts of about $535,000 versus a budgeted $50; and building permit receipts trailing expectations (budgeted $2.1 million, received $1.3 million) because a major developer delayed filings. "That line will be over" for fire permits, she said, and "that one will probably be under" for building permits.
On the spending side, Amanda said general-fund expenditures were at about 71.2% of budget, with a projected roughly $1 million in salary savings from vacancies and hiring delays. She said the council will consider year-end transfers in September to allocate any surplus.
Other highlights presented to the committee included: parks and recreation operating nearly at break-even but carrying forward a prior-year deficit (about $159,498) that staff recommended addressing with year-end transfers; Town A Road snow-removal salaries that ran $285,000 versus a $154,000 budget because of an unusually severe winter; and health-insurance claims up 19.2% from the prior year, though the health-insurance fund balance remains about $3.5 million.
Committee members asked for follow-up detail on several items, including final year-end estimates, the reasons for the building-permit shortfall, and whether one-time state monies should be held or used for capital needs. The committee moved to recommend the quarterly financial statement to the full council and approved that recommendation by voice vote.
The committee will review final year-end numbers and potential allocation decisions at its September meeting, when staff expects to present formal year-end transfer recommendations.
