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Board approves transfer of accounting cash back to water‑sewer fund after ledger cleanup
Summary
City finance staff told the board they found roughly $142,000 in a defunct Water Sewer Operation Maintenance fund and recommended transferring it back to the water‑sewer enterprise; the board approved the transfer by voice vote to restore the utility’s positive cash balance.
City finance staff told the Westmore city board they had discovered about $142,000 sitting in a now‑defunct Water Sewer Operation Maintenance fund and recommended transferring the money back to the water‑sewer enterprise.
"Well, since that money originally came from Water Sewer, let's go ahead and just transfer it back over there since this fund is not serving its intended purpose," a finance staff member said during the meeting. Staff said the accounting entry had been lingering on the ledger while the actual cash remained in the city’s pooled bank account.
The staff explanation said the fund likely existed originally to track bond proceeds tied to water‑sewer improvements and Department of Environmental Quality activity, but that those debts are now being handled at the state level in Jackson. As a result, the staff reported, the city no longer needed the separate maintenance fund and could correct the accounting by reassigning the cash to the water‑sewer fund.
Board members pressed staff on how the cash had been separated on the books while remaining in the pooled bank account and criticized the prior bookkeeping. One member summarized the sentiment in the room as "foolishness." Staff replied that the city’s accounting software, not the bank, had been segmenting the amounts and that the transfer would make the ledger easier to read and reconcile.
According to staff, after the transfer the water‑sewer fund will show a positive beginning balance for the coming year, helping the utility meet operating needs and bring it back into compliance with statutory requirements. The board approved the transfer by voice vote during the meeting.
The move is an internal accounting correction and does not change how the state is handling outstanding bond debt, staff said.
What happens next: staff will post the transfer in the city accounting system and the updated fund balances will appear in the monthly revenue-and-expenditure reports the board reviews going forward.
