Milton finance officer reports ARPA balance; commissioners approve invoice wording change after resident water dispute

Finance Officer Sharon Williams presented the town’s financial snapshot through early July and recommended adjustments following a resident plumbing dispute.

Sharon Williams told the board that, through July 1, the General Fund showed revenue at 4% and expenditures at 8%; she also listed bank-reconciliation balances (General Fund: $12,512.96 on July 31 and $9,968.59 on Aug. 2; Water/Sewer: $6,944.51 on July 21 and $24,376.78 on July 31). Williams reported North Carolina Capital Management figures for the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) fund with a listed balance 9/30/2022 of $23,424.26 and interest bringing it to $23,461.31; the North Carolina Capital Management Trust Fund was reported at $125,181.89 including a $20,000 transfer.

A billing dispute prompted an immediate operational change: two residents called about a water issue that staff found was a private plumbing problem attributed to a resident named Mike Behler. Commissioners voted to revise invoice wording to clarify responsibility: the board approved placing a revised sentence in the second paragraph on the back of the invoice and adding a third-paragraph notice in the information box on the front. Commissioner Sherri Garrard made the motion; Commissioner Valerie Sottile seconded; all voted in favor. The motion included attaching the clarifying information to the meeting minutes.

The board did not adopt policy changes beyond the invoice wording update; Sharon Williams will continue to monitor fund activity and bring any substantive budgetary proposals to future meetings.