WINCHESTER – The city appears to be ending FY21 on a happy note as city inspector Stacie Ward said it should return more money than originally expected.
“We’re still working as the bills just came in,” she noted, adding, “(but) we’re expecting way more than the $ 800,000 we conservatively estimated.”
In a memo to the board of directors, Ward wrote that property and property tax revenues “are currently in line with expectations.” She noted that tax revenue for FY20 was “a little lower than usual as the fourth quarter invoice due date was extended from May 1st to June 1st (due to COVID-19).”
She said based on what is currently released, the tax surplus is approximately $ 570,000 with additional revenue in progress.
Ward also said total local revenues exceeded expectations by more than $ 500,000 as of May 31. On July 12, she said, on a processing basis, they appear to be in excess of $ 1 million, or “far better than we expected”. However, she told the board to keep in mind that expectations have been lower than in previous years due to COVID.
“This additional revenue will build the General Fund’s reserves,” she wrote.
In the case of motor vehicle excise tax, the first commitments were slightly below the previous year at $ 200,000. She said this raises some concerns, but the second pledges processed in June were $ 300,000 more than last year. She said the city had $ 3.4 million in excise taxes on May 31st (but on July 12th it rose another $ 200,000). This means the city has overtaken budget projections without even processing all of June’s revenue.
“That’s good news,” wrote Ward.
The auditor mentioned how the PILOT agreement with Winchester Hospital was finalized last month and the city received the unconditional payment of $ 50,535 in June.
The fines were lower than in the previous year, mainly due to less park and library activity.
As of May 31, 100 percent of indirect funds were booked from company funds.
expenditure
Ward said salaries and expenses “are currently in line with expectations”. She urged department heads to contact themselves or the city council for additional funding or other budget changes before FY21 closes (June 30).
“I have been keeping an eye on budget balances and I am aware of a number of issues,” she wrote, adding that, as noted earlier, the city should expect “healthy setbacks”.
The Finance Committee met on July 13th to review and fund all final budgetary issues.
Ward said additional budget increases approved at the spring town council for snow and ice and legal costs will be taken into account as of May 31.
With respect to the reserve fund, the auditor found a balance of $ 559,000 as of May 31; However, since then the city has spent $ 10,000 on additional costs related to the City Hall floor project. She suggested that FinCom be presented with “other, small ‘cleanup’ requests for FY21 before the end of FY21.
Filed under “more good news,” Ward said the city shouldn’t expect to receive fraudulent jobless claims like it did last year, but it is still chasing down some loans owed to the city. She told the board that these claims are “slowly but surely” resolving on their own.
When it comes to “recoverable” COVID-19 costs, some of the fire, DPW, health department and school department-related costs are still in the general fund, Ward wrote.
“I’m waiting for FEMA approvals to complete as long as possible before reclassifying something into FEMA and transferring the rest of the CARES law funding,” she explained in her memo. “There are still too many moving parts to nail everything down, but I hope to have more information before we process the MUNIS close in mid-August and complete the DOR / audit information.”
Corporate funds
The Water & Sewer Enterprise Fund was expected to beat revenue targets as billing was higher than estimated. This brings the fund to over $ 1.4 million, much higher than last year and the deficit of $ 918,000.
Based on a request from a Town Meeting member, Ward said a presentation should be prepared for the fall town meeting that included a description of operations, a detailed budget, an explanation of Chapter 110, a five-year capital improvement plan, advisory reports / – analyzes, an MS4 approval process and statements and any other information that is deemed important.
This will help explain the need for the tariff and fee increases approved in the last several city assemblies.
Meanwhile, the Recovery Fund “continues to recover from the effects of COVID as programs ramp up for the summer”. On May 31, Ward said earnings exceeded expenses by $ 167,000 and hopes the trend will continue this fiscal year (FY22).
Although the city has not yet fully completed FY21, it was expecting better results than originally expected.