Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Town accountant: FY24 shows building-driven operating deficit but core operations near budget
Summary
Town accountant Diane Mott told the Cheverly mayor and council that FY24 revenue totaled $10.286 million and expenses $12.839 million, a deficit she said was driven primarily by near‑term building costs; excluding the Public Works building outlay the town would have closed the year roughly $500,000 in surplus.
Diane Mott, town accountant, told the Cheverly mayor and council that the town’s preliminary year‑end numbers show $10,286,000 in revenue and $12,839,000 in expenses for fiscal year 2024. “So there was a … deficit of $22,553,000,” Mott said, then clarified that much of the gap reflects capital spending on a new Public Works building she described as funded by prior bond proceeds and borrowed funds.
Mott said taxes performed slightly above budget — “you had budgeted for 6,600,000 of taxes, and you've recognized 6,700,000” — with the largest variance coming from local income tax collections. Licenses and permits, she said, tracked close to budget while personal property tax receipts dipped after a cleanup of old billings. Intergovernmental receipts included nearly $1.99 million in ARPA‑related expenditures and $258,000 in Community Development Block Grant spending tied to an asphalt project.
On capital spending, Mott said the town spent about $2.9 million on the Public Works building in FY24 and noted the bond and related financing were largely recorded in earlier years. She told council that if the $2.9 million building outlay were excluded from the operating statement, the town would “have ended up with a surplus of about 500,000.”
Council members pressed for clarity on unrestricted fund balance and timing effects; Mott estimated an unrestricted fund balance of roughly $5,621,000 as of 06/30/2024 after accounting for fixed‑asset investment and restricted bond balances. She explained timing nuances for highway user revenues and other receipts that are recorded as receivables at year‑end and reviewed July–August operating results, noting $500,000 of period revenue and $2.45 million of period expenses (about $1.045 million of which was building‑related).
Mott recommended continued monthly reporting and some ledger cleanups, including reclassifying a general liability insurance posting. The town administrator said staff will email the presentation to council and post supplemental materials online for transparency and suggested a mid‑year follow up in December or January.
Next steps: staff will supply the finalized audit package to the auditors and present updated monthly reports; council did not take a formal vote on budget adjustments at the session.
