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Bull Shoals committee adjusts water and sewer budgets, flags accounting software errors
Summary
On Oct. 14, 2025, the City of Bull Shoals budget committee reallocated roughly $20,000 from water to sewer for bond payments, created a $12,000-per-year capital improvements line, removed a $210,000 uncollected sales-tax revenue line, corrected health-insurance charges, and identified duplicated accounting entries requiring immediate correction.
On Oct. 14, 2025, the City of Bull Shoals budget committee reviewed the water and sewer department budgets and approved several corrections and adjustments intended to align expenses with responsibility and to improve transparency. The committee agreed to move approximately $20,000 from the water budget to the sewer budget to reflect which side is responsible for an upcoming bond payment and set up a capital improvements line funded at $12,000 per year.
The committee reviewed the city's 1988 bonds and clarified that water-related fines are paid off and that the sewer side is scheduled to be paid off in June 2026. Committee members identified a $210,000 county sales-tax revenue line that had been budgeted but for which no receipts had been recorded; they voted to remove that line item from the budget.
Members also discussed water meter deposits, emphasizing that those funds are not usable income because they must be returned to customers when they move and that interest payments and current funding levels should be reviewed. The committee found health-insurance expenses had been incorrectly charged to the water department and made adjustments to reallocate those costs properly between water and sewer.
During a line-by-line review, the committee adjusted many routine operating accounts based on actual spending and anticipated needs, including maintenance agreements, payroll taxes, uniform and insurance costs, meter replacement, repairs and supplies, utilities, and contracted services. To provide greater transparency, the committee agreed to provide copies of the budget and the treasurer's report to the public at the next council meeting.
The committee flagged significant accounting software issues: line items and dollar amounts had been duplicated or assigned incorrectly between the water and sewer ledgers. Members said the software problems require immediate attention; the committee will revisit the budget once the software errors are corrected and will meet again next week to continue the review.
Budget Chair Randal Bolen is listed on the committee's notes for the meeting. The committee described the session as productive but contingent on resolving the accounting system errors before final allocations are locked in.
