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Orono finance director reports preliminary second‑quarter results; general fund on track
Summary
Finance staff presented unaudited Q2 figures showing general fund revenues at about 59% of budget (property tax 57.9% of revenue budget) and general fund expenditures at 47.2% of budget; staff flagged higher than expected activity in 'other sources' driven by a Long Lake Fire Department operating surplus and noted timing items in the cable fund.
Orono’s finance director presented the city’s preliminary, unaudited second‑quarter financial report and said, overall, the general fund is on track to meet or exceed budgeted revenues by year‑end.
Key figures reported: general fund revenue is at about 59% of budget year‑to‑date, with property tax representing 57.9% of the revenue budget and tax collections showing at roughly 50.6% of the budget. Charges for service are at about 79.5% of budget (driven by police service charges included for the second half of the year), and one large line item — “other sources and transfers” — is above budget primarily because the Long Lake Fire Department operating surplus posted to the city at 284.7% of budget.
On expenditures, the general fund was reported at 47.2% year‑to‑date. Staff identified four departments trending over budget at midyear: the council (due to dues and memberships), elections (special election costs), law/legal services (fire‑related legal fees and special election legal costs), and fire protection (pension payouts to the Orono Fire Relief Association). The finance director said legal costs related to a recent special election claim are in the range of $46,000 (including recent payments) and that claims and bills approved that night were included in the tally.
Staff also reviewed enterprise and internal service funds. The water fund revenue was at 36.5% (seasonal influences), and the cable fund timing explained low year‑to‑date revenue (franchise fee timing) alongside a higher expenditure figure driven by one‑time payments for meeting streaming and agenda software. The city’s investment portfolio average maturity was reported at 2.32 years with a current yield of 3.37%.
Council asked for clarifications on specific items; staff agreed to provide more detailed breakdowns in future budget work sessions. The council scheduled an extended two‑hour July 28 budget work session to allow deeper review.
