Bull Shoals meeting finds accounting errors in water and sewer budgets, recommends reserves and further review

City of Bull Shoals budget reviewers identified multiple discrepancies in the water and sewer department budgets and recommended creating reserve and depreciation accounts to stabilize finances.

Meeting participants said the review, held Oct. 6, 2025, focused on correcting incorrect allocations and missing line items that have produced unclear expense tracking in the 2025 budgets and that must be addressed before projections for 2026 are finalized. The participants also noted that water meter deposits have been recorded as operating revenue but should be classified as a reserve to avoid overstating revenues.

The meeting flagged several contributing problems: errors in data entry, limitations or misconfiguration of the city’s accounting software, and the continuing costs associated with the city’s ongoing water tower project, where engineering and anticipated maintenance costs will affect future budgets. Participants said a recent water rate increase must be reflected accurately in revenue forecasts.

Key recommendations included establishing a prudent reserve and a depreciation account for capital assets, improving expense and revenue tracking, and creating a formal maintenance plan and funding line for water tower and hydrant upkeep. The meeting also called for clearer public communication about potential rate changes needed to fund infrastructure repairs.

Participants identified items needing further investigation before final adjustments: the status of the CenterPoint software purchase, how bond payments are currently allocated in the ledgers, and the nature of several expenses that were not clearly documented in the budget. The transcript did not specify dollar amounts, timing for actions, or a formal vote on these items.

Randal Bolen is recorded in the meeting materials as Budget Chair; the provided transcript segments do not attribute specific quotes or motions to him. The meeting concluded with directions to correct accounting classifications, pursue software and data fixes, and return with revised budget proposals and findings from the investigations.

Next steps: staff were asked to investigate the software purchase and bond allocations and to present proposed budget corrections and an implementation plan for reserve and depreciation accounts at a follow-up meeting (timing not specified).