City adds $340,000 to fund balance
By Bert Lehman
Preliminary 2018 audit results for the city of Clintonville’s general fund show the city took in roughly $228,644 more in revenue than budgeted and spent $111,792 under budget.
That was the message Clintonville City Administrator Sharon Eveland shared with the Clintonville City Council at its July 9 meeting.
“We’re depositing approximately $340,000 into our fund balance,” Eveland said.
She added that all of the city’s utilities saw a net increase in fund balances.
Almost 50% of the city’s revenue in 2018 came from state aid.
The next highest source of revenue for the city was from property taxes, which comprised 27%.
When looking at general fund expenditures, general government went slightly over budget.
Protection of persons and property was roughly $10,000 under budget, which deals mostly with the budget for the Clintonville Police Department.
The Public Works Department and the Parks and Recreation Department were each under budget for 2018 expenditures.
The city’s current debt is a little over $6.9 million.
Eveland told the council the legal margin for new debt that the city could add is a little over $4.6 million.
“This is what I’m talking about when I have said numerous times that we don’t have the ability to borrow for a fire station, even if the council wanted to,” Eveland said. “We cannot legally borrow what it would likely cost us to build a new fire station.”
Following a recent facilities study, the city council has discussed replacing the current fire station or public works building.
During those discussions, Eveland stated the city cannot legally borrow the amount of money that would be required to construct either building. The 2018 audit confirmed that assessment.