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City manager says Hartsville’s reserves have grown; council asked whether to spend or invest excess funds
Summary
City Manager Daniel told the Hartsville City Council that audited revenue trends and a 17–33% reserve policy mean the city is approaching the upper reserve bound; staff outlined LGIP investment returns and asked whether council wants to authorize use of fund balance for capital or other priorities.
Daniel, Hartsville’s city manager, opened the strategic-planning discussion by telling council the city’s general-fund revenues have risen steadily in recent years and that audited reserves have recovered from a low point in 2020.
“We are cresting the point where we actually have to spend that money now,” Daniel said, describing the council’s 17–33% reserve policy and noting that sustained percentages at the upper bound give the council the option to authorize spending from the fund balance.
Daniel reviewed audited data showing 2.5 million in reserves in 2015, roughly $600,000 in 2020 and steady growth since; he said those figures are snapshots from audited fiscal-year closes and emphasized the timing variability of receipts. He also said the city has been able to invest idle funds in the Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP) and that interest income has risen from roughly $10,000 annually to about $150,000–$200,000 in recent periods.
A council member asked how the timing of state portal receipts affects fiscal-year accounting. Daniel said some business-license receipts are recorded on the month they are received, not always the month they accrue, and that he has pressed the state portal administrator (MASC) to report by month-of-accrual when possible so the city’s audit reflects economic activity in the correct fiscal year.
Daniel told the council staff will provide point estimates of current reserves (June snapshots differ from day-to-day bank balances) and present options for using fund balance in the budget process, including capital projects and one-time investments. He cautioned that monthly timing differences (debt payments, large license receipts) can produce temporary dips or spikes in liquidity and that any recommendation should account for those cycles.
The council paused for a scheduled break before moving into goal-setting and item-level budget discussions.
