Orangeville officials open hearing on proposed transfer of utility funds to general fund

Orangeville officials opened an enterprise fund public hearing on June 11 to consider transferring utility enterprise fund revenues into the town’s general fund to address a shortfall.

The chair opened the hearing at 6:01 p.m. after a motion identified by the chair as made by Kevin and seconded by Carrie; council members David, Carrie, Kurt and Kevin voted yes and the motion to open the hearing passed. Staff then explained the rationale for proposing a transfer.

Gary, a town staff member, said the town had included a prior-year transfer of about $54,000 in its budget and that this year staff proposed a transfer of enterprise/utility funds to support general-fund services. “We’re looking to a transfer from the enterprise funds of the $48,500,” Gary said, describing the transfer as a way to ensure the town can meet charges passed through by a special district that raises water rates annually. He told the council that the town shares water-related costs with the special district and needs funds available so it can continue paying increased charges when the district raises rates.

Gary framed the transfer as an alternative to raising property taxes, saying property tax is the main revenue the town can control while sales and state-shared revenues are largely beyond local control. “If the city has some excess funds over in one area, don’t raise my taxes over here,” he said, arguing that shifting excess enterprise revenue to the general fund preserves residents’ purchasing power.

On the record there were inconsistent dollar figures: the chair initially stated the proposed transfer as $43,100 and immediately corrected it to $43,500; Gary later described a proposed transfer of $48,500 during his explanation. The transcript also records a prior-year budget transfer referenced by staff of about $54,000. The council did not vote to approve any fund transfer during the meeting; the session consisted of opening the hearing, staff explanation and closing the hearing.

The chair invited public comment and, when no members of the public spoke, Gary moved to close the public hearing. The chair called roll and recorded yes votes from Kevin, Kurt, Carrie and David; the council closed the enterprise fund hearing and moved to the next scheduled item at 6:15 p.m. No formal approval of the transfer amount was documented in the meeting record.

The next procedural step for the proposal was not recorded in the meeting transcript: staff may bring a formal ordinance, resolution or motion for the council to vote on at a later meeting that would be required to effect any transfer.