BUCHANAN – Buchanan city residents got the chance to learn more about the city’s finances recently with a report from City Treasurer Juli O’Bryant and auditor Kenley Penner’s presentation of the audit for the 2016-17 fiscal year that ended June 30.
O’Bryant began her report by noting that winter tax bills were to be mailed out in early December and due Feb. 14. The city will continue to collect taxes through the end of February at which time people will have to pay their delinquent taxes at the county.
People can now pay their city utility bills online with credit or debit cards with a small fee, she said. Utility bills can also be emailed to people if they prefer that over the regular mail.
O’Bryant also handles the city’s general information and Thrill on the Hill Facebook pages. “We have over 5,000 friends on the main Facebook page and around 2,500 ‘likes’ on the Thrill page,” she said. “We’ve found that it is one of the quickest ways to get the word out about what’s going on.”
People can also stay on top of city news by visiting the city’s recently revamped city website as well as signing up to receive the city’s newsletter. People can sign up for the electronic newsletter by emailing citynews@cityofbuchanan.com.
The www.cityofbuchanan.com website also contains the city’s Dashboard financial and other information. People can get information about the budget, estimated median household income and home values, crime statistics and quality of life issues such as percentage of the budget committed to the arts, parks and recreation.
O’Bryant’s report was followed by Penner’s audit presentation. Penner is an auditor with Plante & Moran in St. Joseph and handles audits for several municipalities in the area.
“You have received a clean audit opinion which is our ‘A’ grade to you,” Penner told Buchanan City Commissioners.
Penner reported that property taxes continue to contribute the most to the city’s general fund revenue level, coming in at $1.1 million or about 53 percent of total revenue. Total general fund revenue ended the 2016-17 year at $2.13 million.
“Property tax revenue has declined the last three years as has personal property tax revenue,” he said. “In addition, the volatility of state revenue sharing has made it hard to budget.”
On the expenditure side, Penner reported that over $1 million is spent every year on public safety which is typcial, followed by $570,000 on utilities. He said 62 percent of general fund expenditures go to cover personnel costs. Overall general fund expenditures ended the year at $2.23 million.
In comparison to budgeted numbers, revenue ended up at $2,131,851, up from the budgeted $2,061,219. Expenditures were lower than anticipated, ending up at $2,232,481, down from the budgeted $2,599,071.
Despite the shortfall with expenditures being greater than revenue, the city ended the year with a small $45,237 surplus after $115,000 was transferred into the general fund from other sources. The general fund balance/reserves increased from $1,604,650 to $1,648,887 over the year.
Penner noted that the city has continued to improve its financial position both during the last year and over the last few years. “You were close to break even last year and better this year,” he said. “You have spent less than budgeted for the last four or five years.”
“Your fund balance is at a little better than six months of operating expenses,” he added. “The state says municipalities should have enough money to cover two months of expenditures and many of those with the highest percentages have four to six months worth of expenditures.”
In other notes, Penner said the city’s pension fund is fully funded which helps the city get a good bond rating and credit score. “It takes that future expense off the books and tells employees you will make them whole,” he said. “That’s where you stand out, many municipalities are not fully funded in their pension funds.”
He said that the city’s expenses have outpaced revenue in the water-sewer fund over the last few years. “As you’re looking at doing capital improvements, you need to pay attention to how you’re setting rates,” he said.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.